Sing Me To Sleep
by BewareTehShippingWall
Summary: EridanxFeferi and GamzeexNepeta. Kingdom AU, plot inside
1. 1 Intro

Hello everyone~ This is an AU EridanxFeferi and GamzeexNepeta roleplay-turned-to-Fanfiction!

I'm not very good at introductions, so let's move on to the pre-plot~

(Homestuck and all it's characters belong to the wonderful Andrew Hussie. My partner and I own nothing more that the plots held in this roleplay)

Two kingdoms, one ruled by king DuelScar, the other by queen Condesce, began to form as one as the king fell for the highest blooded queen. The queen's advisor, The Delorosa, warned her about how easily the king could be swayed, though she paid no mind. Days before they were to be married, queen Cendesce caught king DuelScar with his own advisor, MindFang.

However, during the trial, MindFang used her powers of manipulation on judge RedGlare, convincing her that it was the Delorosa who had been caught with the king, thus sentencing her to death.

Seeking revenge for being betrayed by the man she loved, Condesce declared a war on the kingdom. 8 sweeps later, she admitted defeat, and agreed to DuelScar's request. He would spare her kingdom if she gave up one of her daughters to his kingdom. She agreed without hesitation.

Just a short summary of the beginning plot~ Now the story can truly begin!


	2. 2 The other kingdom

Eridan sighed softly, sending away his tailors. Standing from the large purple-maroon chair in his room, he walked to the full length mirror, examining his reflection for a long moment turning this way and that. Running a hand through the purple colored strands of his hair he turned, grabbing his best scarf and replaced the one currently around his neck with it as he made his way from his room.

"Feferi." He breathed as he walked down the hall toward the main room. That was the name of the new princess they would be receiving to stop the stupid war the other kingdom had caused. At least, that's who his father, King Duel-Scar had said.

_Honk_

The sound pierced the silence surrounding the hall. A shadow watched in silence as the older prince looked around in confusion. The shadow snickered and waited for the elder prince to move.

Eridan saw the male looking around and gave him a slightly unamused expression. He was chasing those -honks weren't they?- again, wasn't he? "Wwhat are you doing standing there?" he asked, stopping a few feet back from Gamzee. "Wwe do have guests arriving soon." He reminded the purple blood.

"Ah yes, our new sis from the wicked evil kingdom nearby is getting her traverse on to reach our kingdom of miracles. Word from the messiahs is the sis is a motherfucking cutie." Gamzee said with a honk of his horn, a lazy smile forever stuck on his face. He was excited to meet the princess; things had been too quiet around here lately. Some fun needed to bleed through these walls again.

Again with the messiahs. "So wwhat is she's cute? She's close to being a prisoner here, so it shouldn't matter how she looks." He lied, stepping past the strange male and continued toward the main room. After all, she was a princess. Wasn't it written in royal genes for princesses to be cute?

Gamzee trailed after Eridan, his feet dragging along and his posture horrible as per usual. "Now Eribro, you got your curiosity light bulb shining. It's kinda cute really. What do you think princess Fefsis will be like?" Gamzee asked, now caught up to Eridan.

"Howw should I knoww?" He asked in return. "Your messiahs seem to knoww quite a bit about her. Wwhy not ask them?" He continued as he took is seat in one of the four chairs that were placed in the main room for the royal family.

"Hey doesn't hurt anyone to drink the elixir from the grapevine." Gamzee retaliated as he plopped down into his respectful throne. "Besides, you gossip more than any lady here. Honk~"

"I'm starting to think that sludge is wwhy you don't have your matesprit quadrant filled." He said softly before Gamzee's second comment clicked. "And I do not gossip. I merely converse about wwhat happens in the kingdom that may vvery wwell become mine one day."

"Eribro, you're all welcome to claim this place. I'm more than content with watching miracles bloom than watching over a kingdom. And if the messiahs bring a troll with a red ribbon tied around their neck my way, then that's all good."

Feferi couldn't help but sigh as she clasped her suitcase shut. That was everything. She was all packed. All she had to do now was wait for Nepeta to alert her of the arriving carriage that would take her to her new home. She was not happy about this at all. Her mother, Condesce, gave her no say on whether she would like to be the peace offering for the other kingdom. For all anyone cared she was now a pretty gift to stop the war her mother had created. The only optimism the situation gave her was that her faithful lady in waiting was going with her and rumor had it that the princes were very good looking. Especially…

"Eridan…"

Nepeta peaked her head in, offering a playful smile. "Trying out your new purrince's name out?" she asked. "The carriage is here, by the way." She added, hooking her arm around Feferi's. "We should head out befur they leave without us purrincess." She said, giving the other female's arm a light tug. When she had been informed that Feferi would be leaving the kingdom she hadn't even needed to think about whether she would stay or faithfully follow her long time friend.

Feferi jumped a bit and coughed to cover the light blush she would feel creeping on her cheeks. "N-EP-E-TA. I didn't sea you there~" _Well, time to go._ She thought as Nepeta tugged on her arm, puling her out of her room. She was grateful Nepeta was going with her, as they had been friends since Nepeta's mother showed up with the little kitty clinging to her skirts, her mother begging for work. Unfortunately, old age mixed with brittle bones meant Disciple had to stay here at the Condesce's kingdom. "How's old Disi Nepeta?" Feferi asked as they headed down the hallway.

Nepeta forced a smile to stay in place. "She's well. She says she'll miss us, but she understands she can't go against the queen who was so nice to us al these years." She said, helping pull Feferi's suitcase into the carriage. Offering a curtsy to the conductor, she waited for Feferi to enter first. This gave her a change to give one last look to her mother's room where the beautiful elder watched them with a sad smile. Nepeta returned the expression, then tuned back to and entered the carriage.

"I wish Disi could come with. I feel horabubble for splitting you two up." Feferi said once the carriage was in motion.

Nepeta let out a soft giggle at that. "Please, if I hadn't wanted to come along, I would have stayed with her." She said, placing her hand on the empresses'. "There's no way I would let my best furriend go off to some dark kingdom all by herself."

Feferi couldn't help but smile and squeeze the other troll's hand. "I'll make shore we can visit her. Sound good?" she asked. Looking down at their hands, she added, "I'm glad you're going with me. I don't trust anyglub else." She smiled even more. They had been closer than Feferi was to her own mother. Nepeta was always there to talk to and play with. There would definitely be problems if anyone at the kingdom tried to take her away.

Nepeta nodded, smiling. "You're the only one other than my mother that I trust." She replied before something outside the window caught her attention. Looking outside her eyes widened. "And I thought _your_ kingdom was big." She breathed, staring at the new area. It had to be twice the side of the Condesce's kingdom... at least.

Feferi followed her gaze and felt her jaw drop. "It's beautiful…" she said softly. The castle stones were pale from the salt of the sea. The sun setting added a pink glow that absolutely took Feferi's breath away. "We're here. That's for shore."

Nepeta nodded and as soon as the carriage stopped she burst out of it, not caring to wait for it to open for them. "Maybe this wont be a complete distaspurr after all!" she chimed as she smiled back at the other female.

Feferi couldn't help but giggle at Nepeta's enthusiasm and jumped out of the carriage herself. "Hopefully. Come on, let's go!" and with that, she grabbed Nepeta by her arm and started up the path to the kingdom. The conductor followed suit with their luggage.

Nepeta nodded, allowing Feferi to lead her. Smiling, sh eagerly looked around. "The garden looks like the purrfect place to nap~" she said, pointing to the beautifully kept garden that covered close to half of the grounds outside of the castle. "The queen made it seem like this was a dark and scary place." She added.

"Oh my! You and your cat naps." She said, ruffling Nepeta's hair. "The sun will hit that spot perfectly for you." she poked fun at Nepeta, hoping it would help calm both of their nerves. The queen did have a tendency to exaggerate things. The doors opened for them, revealing the throne room. It was long, with four thrones at the end. Two of which were occupied.

Pleased that the other still didn't have the urge to seize the throne, Eridan offered a nod. Before he could start another sentence, the door opened and whom he assumed to e the new princess walked in trailed by two others. One who was attached to the princess' arm. Eridan stood, making sure his posture was straight and he tried a welcoming smile. "Wwelcome Princess Feferi." He greeted.

Feferi watched the scarfed male stand and greet them, while the other was staring at a spot above Nepeta's head… Or… was he staring at Nepeta? Feferi would worry about that later. Making her way to them, she stopped and curtsied, extending her hand. "The pleasure is mine." She said with a small smile on her face. This one definitely had some good features but gave off a pompous air. Nonetheless, it was the other prince that worried Feferi.

Gamzee watched the pair enter with mild curiosity. The princess was pretty cute, full hair, freckles adorning her face… but… he sat up a bit straighter and leaned forward. The girl on her arm, she reminded him of a kitten. This one… _she_ was the motherfucking cutie. "Well, well. Miracle number one."

Eridan's eyes flickered back at Gamzee when he heard him speak but pushed it aside. Taking Feferi's hand he thought the proper thing was to offer a kiss to her hand. Bowing his head he did just that before he released her hand and lowered his own, taking a small step back. "I hope that you find your stay here somewhat enjoyable at the vvery least." He offered. "Shall I show you two to your room?" Eridan asked, finally looking to Nepeta.

However, her attention went past him to the other prince. Her head tilted to the side a little, her wide eyes studying him. He certainly didn't look like any other prince she had seen. His posture was the most noticeable abnormality, most likely because posture had been driven into her skill since she would walk on her own. "Miracle?" she repeated aloud.

Gamzee's smile grew to that of a Cheshire cat's as he swung himself out of his seat and walked over to Nepeta. Her clinging to the princess a bit tighter did not go unnoticed to him. He practically went onto his knees so he could get a bit below eye level with her. "Motherfucking miracles, kitty. Just cal me Gamzee. May I know the name behind that cute face of yours?" he asked as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She was soft, her skin was anyway. And she was so small, he thought, but he could see determination in those piercing eyes, mixed with a bit of shyness.

Feferi had quickly had enough of the tall male's behavior. He was scaring Nepeta for cod's sake. "Yes. I sink it's time to find our rooms and freshen up!" she said a bit too fast as she pulled Nepeta away from the lanky male and started down the hall, Eridan trailing behind with a light worried and confused expression. He only glanced back to offer a disapproving look to Gamzee, then hurried to catch up with Feferi.

"Pay no mind to him. He's… not like the rest of us here and usually doesn't act like that at all." He explained, hoping it would before he stopped in front of a pair of double doors about half way down the hall. "Here wwe are." He said, opening the door for them.

The room came with a pink colored four poster bed twice the side of a king sized bed, a large wooden wardrobe, desk and vanity as well as a foldable wooden changing stand.

Feferi was still a bit huffy about the prince, but was able to appreciate the room. It reminded her a lot of her old room, and she could picture her cuttlefish scattered over the bed. The closet filled with colorful dresses. Her viola on the dresser maybe? She walked over to the bed, running her hand along the wooden post. "It shell do, once it's been lived in." she said as she turned back to Eridan. "Gamzee… is he always like that?" Feferi asked. She had seen her fair share of eccentric fold, but never a prince who was so forward with a lady in waiting… Whom of which was spacing out in the chair in front of the vanity.

He… He had been talking to her of all people? Especially when Feferi was around? That amazed and completely confused Nepeta. This kingdom was strange. Or maybe it was just the taller prince that made it seem that way? She had never seen Feferi get so protective over her so fast.

Eridan nodded at the first comment and shook his head at the latter. "Nevver havve I seen him act in such a way." He said. "He is strange, but I don't remember him crossing that line of wweirdness." He said. "If it wwould make things any better, I wwill speak wwith him about it."

Feferi sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yes, that will make me feel more at ease. Thank you." she curtsied and approached the prince a little curiously. "Anyfin I need to know aboat you? PRINCE -Eridan?" she tilted her head, her hands clasped behind her back.

Eridan watched her for a moment, and then shook his head. "I don't believve so." He said. "Other than my room is across the hall if you evver need me." He said, pulling a little at the rim of his scarf. "Is there anything I should know about you as well, Princess Feferi?"

She giggled, finding it cute that he was hiding behind his scarf. "Hmm…" she pondered and she placed a hand under her chin, rocking back on her heels. "I never say no to cuttles. And I like your eyes. Hehehe~"

Eridan coughed a little as he felt a blush creep onto his cheeks, and he cursed himself for being so easily flustered. He wasn't even sure as to why she flustered him so. "That's vvery kind of you, princess. Your… your eyes are vvery appealing as wwell." He replied curtly.

To be lighthearted she put her hands to her face and swayed side to side slowly. "Oh my cod. You're such a charmer –Eridan." She said. By this point, a couple of maids had arrived with Feferi and Nepeta's belongings, beginning to unpack them. "Oh! Our stuff is here! TIME- to unpack!" The princess said excitedly. Walking to the nearest box she opened it to reveal her stuffed friends who began to overflow the now open box.

Feferi picked up one in particular and crushed it to her chest. "CUTTLE-S! I'm reely sorry you had to ride in this box." She made her way back to Eridan, shoving the cuttlefish in his face. "Say glub glub to –Eridan Mr. Cuttle-s." she squeezed the plushie to make it squeak as if to say hello.

Eridan took a small step back to catch himself and he examined the plushie. "I guess this is the cuttles you wwere saying you nevver say no to?" he asked. Of course she couldn't have meant cuddling. That had been the place his mind had gone for reasons he wasn't sure of quite yet.

Nepeta stood from her chair, seemingly out of her daze now and back to her usual self. Giggling at Eridan's reaction she moved to Feferi's side to help unpack.

Meanwhile, Gamzee was sitting on the floor, his hand on his cheek. The hand that had graced the kitty's warm cheek. His eyes were closed and he sighed contently. Yes, he had already decided that she was special, and she could help him back a pie full of fun to feed every brother in the castle. He slowly rose to his feet, starting off in the direction the three of them had disappeared off in.

"No sealy! I never say no to cuttling with anyone." She placed the plushie in his arms and went back over to the box to unpack it with Nepeta. "Where should RoseCollor go?" she asked, holding up the dragon her mother's newest advisor's daughter had given her.

Nepeta opened her mother to answer when a soon-to-be-familiar voice stopped her.

"Hey, any motherfuckers need assistance with getting their unpacking on?" Gamzee asked peaking his head in the doorway.

Nepeta looked back at him, almost hesitating with her answer. "I'm purrty sure we can handle it." she replied. He was so strange. Everything about his was. Not to mention he hardly acted like a prince at all. She turned back to Feferi, catching the confused look that Eridan was giving the plushie that he now held. "The shelf above the bed looks like a good place." She said to Feferi.

Without asking, Gamzee walked into the room and over to Feferi, taking the dragon plushie from her hands. Gently, of course, he'd never put the hurting on stuffed bros. With a lazy grin on his painted face, he slouched over the shelf and placed the plushie there. Then he stepped back to admire his handy work. "Motherfucking miracles." He said, turning to go to the box to get another one out, but a certain princess stood in his way.

"I sink Nepeta just said we don't need your kelp." She huffed. Her patience with this prince was growing REELY short. It didn't help that she was a bit tired and cranky from the trip. The last thing she wanted right now was Gamzee touching her things.

Nepeta moved between the two of the, concern over powering her caution toward Gamzee. "Thank you for your help purrince Gamzee, but I think that if you purrsist then the purrincess will become angered." She said.

Eridan took a step toward them, setting the cuttlefish on the bed. "Let us leavve them for noww. I need to speak wwith you anyway Gamzee." He added.

"Well, if the Nepsis kitty says so, then I'll be making my exit now." he reached out and ruffled Nepeta's hair and slouched past Feferi over to Eridan to sling an arm around the shorter male's shoulders. "So what conversation bits will Eribro be passing my way?" he asked as he guided them out and closed the door.

Eridan resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the other dragged him away and he sighed softly. "Wwhat I'll be 'passing your wway' is asking wwhat you think you're doing." He said. "You're acting wweird. Wwell, wweirder than usual." He corrected.

"The understanding pieces in my thinkpan aren't clicking to what you're saying bro." Gamzee said, walking down the hall and barely avoiding running into a pillar… but walked into the next one. He didn't really show that he felt it, simply sliding down said pillar to sit there for a moment, then turned to face Eridan.

His blood was far superior than his intelligence sometimes, wasn't it? Eridan blamed the pies that the purple blood was constantly eating. "Wwhat I'm saying is that you're upsetting the princess by howw you're acting towward her lady in wwaiting.

"Aw, shit, bro. didn't meant to rain on Fefsis's parade. I can't help it. Nepsis kitty…" Gamzee didn't finish his sentence. He just stared past Eridan's shoulder, thinking about the kitten in question.

Eridan waved in front of the other's face in an attempt to try to catch his attention once again. "-Did not arrivve wwith a red ribbon around her neck as a gift from your messiahs." He finished for the other. "So she is not of your concern."

Hm? Oh right, he was talking with Eridan. He did catch the last bit that his bro said though. His head rolled to the side. "You can think what you want bro. I just want to get some knowings of Nepsis right now. I won't push for no more than that. Bt if I need to back up a foot for now, I will. Now, I saw Fefsis with a pale ribbon and your name on it too." He added.

"Yes, you do need to." Eridan said, and the latter comment soon caught him off guard a little. Pale? Well, a quadrant was a quadrant and he wasn't exactly looking to redrom with the princess at the moment. Having a friend who could focus for more than five seconds would be nice as well. "Either wway, I wwould advvise you backing off some before the princess tries to behead you."

"If you say so Bro, would feel a bit weird to walk around without my head." Gamzee said, tapping his own head for emphasis. "Now, my green bros in the garden are caking me. They're in need of that clear elixir. I'll see you around." And with that, Gamzee turned and walked off. Managing to only hit three of the six pillars, sadly being a record for the highblood.

Feferi huffed as she approached Nepeta. "Did he hurt you? Oh dear, your hair is a mess now. Where is my brush?" she muttered as she studied Nepeta's hair and set off, opening boxes and checking their contents.

Nepeta ran her fingers through her hair while Feferi searched for a brush. "No, I'm not hurt." She replied. "Just confused. You're the purrincess that they may marry. Not me." She added, keeping her gaze from the other female as she spoke. Her mother had warned her that only princesses got princes. Not everyone got to have their own fairy tale,

Feferi looked over at Nepeta, who was looking everywhere but at her. She couldn't help but frown at her friend's comment. She found the entire class thing stupid. She also had found her brush at this point and walked behind Nepeta to fix her hair. "I wish it wasn't like that. That only paupers can parry paupers and princes marry princesses. No one can go beyond their blood class." Feferi sighed as she ran the brush through her friend's hair. Due to how active and hyper she tended to be, Nepeta had to keep it about chin length so it wouldn't get tangled all the time. Where as Feferi had no choice and had to keep her hair long, no matter how tangled and pain it was. "I've heard of paupers marrying royalty. Back when the bloodline didn't matter. There hasn't been a case of it in decades… but it's not completely unheard of." Feferi finished. If Feferi could have one wish, it would be for Nepeta to be her sister rather than Meenah. That way she would be treated as fairly as Feferi was herself.

Nepeta shook her head lightly. "I don't need to marry a purrince. That's your thing, Fef." She said, smiling back at her friend once her hair was finished. "Besides, this way you have two purrinces to pick from." She teased, pretty sure that Feferi would never shoot for Gamzee, especially if he kept acting like he was.

Feferi groaned and hid her face in Nepeta's shoulder. "Don't remind me." At this point she would pick Eridan, no hesitance. Nepeta giggled, patting her friend's hair for a moment, then picked up one of the cuttlefish. "Come on, let's finish here so we can explore!" she said excitedly.


	3. 3 The art of being improper

Nepeta smiled as she looked around the room that was slowly looking better and better. She made her way to Feferi, nuzzling her shoulder. "It looks almost as purrfect as home." She said, straightening. The princess nuzzled her cheek in return with a giggle and a thank-you, pulling her friend into a hug that was complete with more nuzzles. Nepeta hugged her back, giggling as well. "Any time purrincess~" she chimed. "Shall we explore? Or would you like to sleep now?" she asked.

As if on cue, Feferi let out a little yawn. "Heh, a little nap sounds nice. You're free to explore though, just try not to get lost okay?" Feferi said as she unhooked her dress in the back. "Sea you in a bit~"

"Sleep well~" Nepeta said, turning and exiting the room. Where to start, where to start? The castle itself didn't seem all that interesting, which gave her the perfect idea of the place to explore; the garden. She made her way quickly and silently down the hall and out the main door, slowing once she entered the garden. Even though it was not dark outside, it was still pretty and Nepeta quite enjoyed all the new scents that it held.

Gamzee had been in the process of watering the strawberry patch when he had fallen asleep, tipping the watering can over causing it to spill over himself. However he was in too deep of a sleep to notice the soaking of his shirt let alone the little kitten that entered his corner of the kingdom.

Nepeta managed to notice him just in time to not trip over the lanky figure that was on the ground. Looking down at him she knelt beside him, picking the watering can up so it wouldn't soak him any further. She looked around, a smile lighting up her face and she moved a little closer to the strawberry plants.

Gamzee's eyes blinked open after the cold from his wet shirt started to settle in his bones. He rolled over onto his horn which emitted a loud HONK and he giggled as he sat up to stretch, his back being to the lady in waiting to cause his lack of notice to her. Nepeta noticed the honk though as it caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. She looked to him, her eyes wide.

"That didn't scare you?" she asked.

Gamzee turned to the sound of the voice a smile crossing his face before the anger had a chance to form as he recognized her. He couldn't help but notice how cute she was, even with the wide startled eyes. How soft her hair looked, and how much he wanted to nuzzle his face in that hair. But, he told Eridan that he would back off. For now. "Hey Nepsis. Naw, I find the honks soothing. They remind me of the honks flying above us, among the messiahs in the sky." He was going to say more when a fit of shiver raked his body. "Motherfucker, man, I don't recall the air laying this much cold when I came out.

Messiahs? She planned to question that, but he mentioned it being cold and she noticed the chill as well. "Purhaps you should go inside then?" she suggested, looking up at him. Even when they were both sitting he still seemed marginally taller than her. No wonder he had to all but kneel down to be level with her.

He was playing with some strings on his shirt while she was talking when he realized why it was so cold. His shirt was soaked and he remembered watering the strawberries when he became mesmerized by the water flow. It explained why he fell asleep. "Naw, I'll be fine. Just need to make a costume change." And with that he undid the strings and pulled his shirt over his head. He revealed his torso which showed nearly all of his ribs, his long limbs seeming skinnier as well as longer without the baggy shirt hiding them. "That's better." He said, shooting a lazy grin Nepeta's way.

The dark haired female felt her cheeks tint light green and she turned away from him. Never before had she known a prince –or anyone for that matter- to just… strip himself of his clothing like that. "I'm not sure how propurr that is." She said, her gaze creeping to peak at him from the corner of her eye. He was so… thin.

"Proper? That word has some serious weight to it. Heard it before, what does it mean again?" he asked. From the look of her blush and how she avoided his gaze his half-nakedness was… bringing some fort of reaction up. He wasn't sure what it was tough. "Like something you see?" he chuckled with two honks of his horn.

She planned to explain the word but she caught his other comment and felt her body tense and the green darkened. "P… Propurr means what is sociably accepted." She said, trying t pretend she hadn't heard the last part. "You removing your shirt any place but your room is the exact opposite of propurr."

His grin drooped a bit as he observed her. "So this bothers you? I'm sorry Nepsis. Fact, Eribro made me make an oath of distance from you so I probably shouldn't be near you." _As much as I want to._ He added in his head. He stood up and reached out to ruffle her hair again, but dropped his arm at the last second. The grin was back on his face now. "See you around." He said. To be honest with himself, he didn't want to have to leave. He wanted to stay with her, to get to know her. But an oath was an oath, sadly. It'd be up to Nepeta if he was being too close.

Nepeta hadn't meant her comment to be taken that way. When he started to leave, she stood and all but tripped over herself in following him, catching herself by grabbing a hold of his arm. "I… I didn't mean it like… why did he make you agree to stay away from me?" she asked looking up at him.

Gamzee used his other arm to help steady her so she wouldn't fall. "Fefsis. Seems she s weighted with upset over me being to close to comfort to you." He explained, shrugging. "People don't know how to get their understanding on to me."

Feferi? Nepeta frowned. She had told Eridan she would have appreciated him talking to Gamzee about how he was acting, hadn't she? "She's very protective of me it seems." She said as she stood right and let go of him. "She… was just startled by how you were acting earlier. Kinda like I was."

Gamzee nodded. "Sorry for startling you sis. Was at the bottom of my list of things to do today." He explained before he started to search his pockets as if searching for this list.

Nepeta watched him spin around, tilting her head to the side. "I'm glad you weren't intending to startle me." If she admitted t to herself, she had been more confused than startled. She just hadn't known how to react to how he was treating her.

He soon forgot about looking for the list and turned to face Nepeta again, the lazy grin on his face. "Heh, course. Even with the great messiah's knowledge they lack in the social wisdom." He scratched behind his head a bit sheepishly. "So, not many bros hand out with this motherfucker."

"Me… Messiahs?" she asked before frowning softly. "You mean.. You're alone a lot?" That didn't sound right. Shaking her head she took a step closer and looked up at him. "That doesn't sound right at all! You're a purrince, you should have anyone with you any time you want!"

"Hey sis, it's okay. I ain't complaining, its always been like this. Ever since I was a grub." His eyes darkened over and he cast his gaze over to the apple tree nearby. His mother loved apples…

"That's… That's not right." She said. "No one should be alone. It doesn't matter if it's always been like that, it shouldn't be that way. At least not anymore!"

Gamzee turned to look at Nepeta with a confused yet disbelieving look. "My mind caboose is having a hard time following Nepsis's train of thought."

She let out a soft sigh, her hands moving to her hips. And action she had picked up from her own mother. "You should find a purrincess!" she exclaimed. "Then you won't be alone anymore!" she added.

He tilted his head to the side. "Princes only marry princesses for uniting kingdoms. There's no happiness or quadrant of any color behind it. And that's not motherfucking fair. Besides, I found something better." He said, his face now real close to Nepeta's to prove his point.

Nepeta's eyes widened a little and she swallowed hard, finding herself unable to step away from him or even look away from his eyes. "Some… Something better…?" she asked carefully.

"Yep." He popped the P and added a HONK from his horn. His lazy grin gained a bit more energy and he kept his gaze on her, never changing and never faltering.

"And… what might that be, purrince Gamzee?" She asked, only flinching faintly at the sound of the horn that time. Hopefully she would be able to get used to the intrusive sound it made. He didn't say a word, but instead have her the horn, indicating that he wanted her to squeeze it. Taking the horn she looked down at it before back up at him with a confused expression. After a few moments of silence she gave the horn a light squeeze.

"Hehe. I don't let just anyone honk that horn." He said, rolling back onto his heels but went too far and fell backwards. He was unharmed, lookin back up at Nepeta with his grin.

Nepeta jumped a little when he fell back, dropping to her knees at his side. "Then who _do _you let honk it?" surely he couldn't be going in the direction she thought he was, right?

"Stick around a little longer and I'll tell you." he said, reaching over to place his hand on top of hers, squeezing the horn in the process. She pulled her hand back from his slowly, setting the horn beside him.

"How long?"

He hadn't really thought that far yet. "Well, however motherfucking long until you leave, I guess. Everyone packs their things and vacates the dark carnival at some point or another." He shrugged, picking up the horn and turning it in his hands. "'Cept Eribro, since he's my stepbro somehow." He let out a little hoarse laugh.

She gave him a bit of a confused look at that. "So you're going to wait till we leave to tell me?" She asked. "That's not very mice of you." She added with a light frown.

It was uncalled for, but he though her little frown was kinda cute. Of course he wanted to see her smile, which he wasn't sure if he had seen yet or not. "It will probably be before that, if you do stay." He said, leaning back on his hands, hitting the horn. HONK. "At least for a little bit." He added as an after thought.

They seemed to be back to square one of her not knowing when he planned to tell her. She lowered her gaze and her cheeks tinted again as she ended up looking at his still bare chest. Standing in a bit of a hurry, her hands moved to fuss with her dress as if she cared if it was perfect or not. "I should get back to purrincess Feferi."

Gamzee tilted his head. "Hm? Alright sis." He stood up as well, looking around the garden. It was already dark and he hadn't gotten half of the things he wanted to get done in the garden today. "Hey, wanna help a motherfucker out with green thumbing tomorrow?" he asked. "I'll throw in some strawberries in the deal." He said pointing to the ripe patch of strawberries.

She followed where he was pointing before she gave him a small smile. "I'd like that." She replied softly. "I'll have to ask for permission from the purrincess furst though."

He laughed a bit. "If you have to. Think she'll let you near me? I'll be good. Like a woofbeast." He got down on his hands and knees and acted like said woofbeast with a "Woof woof", shaking his butt a bit as if he had a tail there.

Nepeta watched him, covering her mouth as she giggled at his action. "If she saw you act like this rather than earlier, she might." She teased. She had, in fact, enjoyed earlier though. He had almost treated her like she was the princess of interest rather than Feferi. "You really are a strange purrince."

"I shall take that as a compliment. Even if it wasn't one." He said, getting back up on his feet to crack his back. "If we stop by my room to get a shirt on the way, I'll walk you back to your living quarters." He said, offering his arm to her. She was more cautious than anything when she took his arm, her instincts still a little wary about him. The walk was silent, though not in a awkward way. They stopped in front of his door and he suggested that she should stay outside the room as he took his arm back from her and entered the room. However he failed to close the door behind himself, revealing the chaos his room held.

Piles. Everywhere. There was a horn pale by his un-kept bed. A faygo pile by the huge open window. Piles of clothing scattered around the room. The closet was overflowing with juggling equipment. He walked over one of the shirt plies that Nepeta assumed to be the clean ones as he dressed in the one he picked up once he had tossed the wet shirt into a different pile.

Nepeta looked around the room from where she stood more than surprised. With how well kept the room that her and Feferi were staying in, she would have thought all the rooms would be kept neat. "Do the maids skip your room when they clean?" she asked, looking at him now that his torso was clothed again.

"Kinda. They fix up the piles and take my cloths that need to be leaned, but that's it. They're kinda scared of my room since one sis found a mousebeast in the horn pile once." He said walking back to Nepeta. Seeing the shocked look on her face he added, "Don't piss your pants. That was once. My room is habitable."

Nepeta gave him a pout, her arms crossing over her small chest. "I would never." She stated indignatively. "I was just surprised that it scared them that badly. Mousebeasts aren't scary."

"Right, because you're a meowbeast. Meowbeasts chase mousebeasts. Good thing, because I'm not sure what else likes to hang out in here." He said a little fast. Kicking some empty bottles back over to their pile he closed the door. "Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm once more.

She nodded, a little less nervous to take his arm this time now that he had a shirt. She offered a smile up at him and nodded curtly. "Yes."

Feferi had woken up by this point, fixing her appearance in the mirror then moving to open the door as she rubbed her eyes. She didn't have her goggle-like glasses on and was practically blind without them. Thus she had yet to see the pair walking down the hall towards her. Gamzee noticed her however, letting go of Nepeta's arm and turning around, hurrying behind one of the pillars to hide.

When he left her side without warning she looked back then ahead of herself to see Feferi heading their way. She moved quickly to the female, taking her hand. "Is there something you need purrincess?" she asked.

Feferi yawned in response. "Not reely. Just woke up. What time is it?" she asked, still slowly waking up. She slid her glasses on and looked around just in time to see a horn rolling from a nearby pillar to her foot. "Eh?" she squeaked as she stared at it. where had it come from? Nepeta shook her head, trying to lead Feferi back to their room.

"Don't mind that. I've found them all over the place here." She said with a smile. Nepeta had the advantage as Feferi was still groggy and didn't press the issue or put up much of a fight. "Oh, okay." She trailed off. Nepeta was glad that she had gone so willingly and she sat with her on the bed.

"Purrincess, if you don't mind me asking, why do you dislike purrince Gamzee?" she asked, taking her friends hand.

"Huh? Oh." it took a second for her mind to click. "Nep, its not that I don't like him. He's just so… odd. And had this weird sudden interest with you. Not that h-e shouldn't b-e or Anyfin." She added quickly. "But just how little space he gives you." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'm just worried that he's not… that." She flailed her hands to describe him. "And that there's somefin more… finister behind that grin. Does that make sense?" she asked, turning to face Nepeta.

"That he's not… That?" she repeated, tilting her head to the side. "You're worried that he's not what?"

Feferi sighed. "I worried that he's… not what he appears to be." She squeezed Nepeta's hand. "I'm worried that if he gets too close to you, he'll hurt you." she finished, concern flooding her eyes.

Nepeta shook her head, pulling Feferi up to the head of the bed with her. "Let's just sleep." She said. "Maybe in the morning you won't think that anymore. Im purrty sure he's not a bad guy." She said, slipping under the blankets.

"Maybe…" she shook her head and crawled back under the covers, placing her glasses on the nightstand and settling back on her pillow. She wasn't convinced though that she would change her mind that easily. There was something about Gamzee's that… to be honest, scared her.


	4. 4 Just one night

That nap was not a good idea. Feferi thought as she turned on her back for the tenth time. Nepeta was sound asleep next to her to make things worse. How could she be sleeping so calmly in a place like this? One night in and she already missed her room. What should she do? She didn't want to disturb Nepeta, Gamzee wasn't even worth mentioning. Wait. She sat up. Eridan. He said he was across the hall, right? It was worth a shot right? Grabbing cuttles she padded over to the door and opened it. Walking across the hall se hesitated before finally knocking lightly, standing back.

Eridan had been on his way back to bed, having just managed to calm himself the rest of the way down from a nightmare. Hearing the knock he looked to the door, then made his way to it opening it once he was in front of it. "Princess?" he said, more than a little confused. "Wwhat is it? Is something wwrong?"

Feferi rubbed her eyes under her glasses and hugged cuttles a bit closer to her chest. He had his scarf on still. Did he sleep with that thing on? She felt a bit better when it didn't seem that she had woken him due to his alertness. "w-well," she started "I can't sleep. Nepeta is fast asleep and I was… wondering." She trialed off and pointed past his shoulder at his bed, asking silently if she could come in.

Wait, she wanted to sleep in his room? That was certainly a change of events and certainly ne he hadn't seen coming. He nodded, stepping back as he gestured for her to come in, the other hand moving to tighten his scarf a little around his neck. "Of course you can princess." He said gently.

"Thank you." she whispered. It was very roomy she observed as she made her way into the room. It was a bit bigger than hers and Nepeta's room, but it was almost the same lay out His desk was pretty organized and very neatly kept There was a full length mirror in the corner with a little pedestal for the seamstresses. She noted that there wee two distinct lines worn in the carpet at the foot of his bed. Did he pace a lot? The one thing that caught her eye was the dark wooden piano next to the mirror. She walked over to it and guided her hand lightly along the keys. "Do you play?" she asked, turning to im.

He took a few steps toward her when she asked and he nodded slowly. "Yes. I had a lot of free time as a child, and decided I wwanted to learn to play an instrument." He said, running his hand over the polished wooden surface. "Any thing else I tried to play nevver felt right, and I could nevver get howw to play down right.. Until I tried the piano." He added.

Feferi nodded as a smile crossed her face. "I was like that too, but then I found my viola." She loved her viola, and found herself much more relaxed when she was tuning and playing it. "Will you play me somefin?"

Eridan gave her an almost started look, then shifted his gaze back to the piano. "If that is wwhat you wwould like princess." He said, sitting on the bench. It had been a little while since he had actually played so he was nervous as to how it would sound. Nonetheless he inhaled deeply, beginning to play, his melody having almost a hollow melancholy sound to it.

"Oh…" she felt her heart swell up and catch in her throat. It was tragically beautiful and reminded her so much… of him. Yet, she didn't know anything about him. That didn't mean she didn't want to. She knew, in that moment of listening to his song, she wanted to.

Eridan slowly wound the piece down and after a while his hands stilled on the keys. "I hope that wwas to your liking, princess." He said, looking to her.

She could only nod, clutching cuttles to her chest. After a couple moments of silence she whispered, "It was… beautiful. And… sad." She padded over to his bed and curled up on the corner, facing him.

When she said it was sad he stood as well, making his way to sit beside her on the bed. "I wwrote it during a less pleasant time." He explained. "Noww, if you don't mind me asking, wwhy is it that you can't sleep?" he asked.

Feferi sighed. "I'm not used to this castle. The sounds it makes, how my bed feels. The nap I took didn't kelp either." She admitted, bringing her knees to her chest. "I hope I didn't wake you… I'm sorry if I did."

Eridan gave her a small smile. "No, you didn't wwake me. And I did tell you that you could come to my room at any hour." He pointed out. Her presence helped calm him down as well he was noticing. "I wwas asking because I wwas wworried that something had upset you."

"You mean that, aside from having to leave my home behind to be forced to live here from now on? And… Gamzee." She shook her head. "I'm seaficiently content." She added sarcastically.

He winced at that, turning away from her. "I guess I deservved that." He said. "And… Gamzee doesn't help I knoww." The memories still made his neck burn. "Listen princess. Please be careful around him. He… He's not alwways howw he seems."

Feferi tilted her head when he turned away and then looked down at her hands as she sat up. "I didn't reely mean it towards you. I just mean in general. Mother had two daughters to choose from and she chose me, of coarlse." She huffed, then looked back at Eridan. Pain crossed over his face when he talked about Gamzee and she wondered why. Did Gamzee do something when they were younger? "Hey, can you look at me?" she asked, placing her hand on his chin, gently turning his head to face her. She felt him flinch a little under her touch, but he allowed her to turn his head. The flinch only added to her confusion.

"Of course princess." He said, trying to snap himself out of his memories. "Wwhat is it?" he asked.

"Are you…" she trailed off as concern added to the confusion and she dropped cuttles to place her other hand on his cheek. "Are you okay? You looked like you were in pain."

Eridan forced a smile, though it wasn't all the convincing. He hadn't had much practice forcing smiles. "It's nothing you need to wworry about princess." He assured her. He wanted to say that everything was alright, but that would involve lying to her; one of the last things he wanted to do to her.

She wasn't convinced that his smile was genuine, but then again she just… believed he wasn't forward and trusting so easily as Gamzee was. Not to mention he had just met her a few hours ago. She was curious as all hell about him, and she knew the more she was with him, the more her curiosity grew. But she had to take it a day at a time and she hoped that one day he would trust her enough to tell her the reason behind the fake smile. She was more convincing with her fake smiles however as she flashed him a small one and ran a line with her thumb along his jaw a couple times as Eridan leaned a little into her hand before she let her hands drop back to her lap. "If you're shore." He opened his eyes fully, which had been starting to slide closed. The touch had been comforting and he gave her a nod.

"I am. You wwont need to wworry about anything noww as long as I havve any say in the matter."

Feferi let out a giggle and ruffled the purple colored center of his hair. "Alright then. You looked content for a second there." She observed.

Had she really just… ruffled his hair? Why had she… he shook his head a little, moving his hand up to fuss with her hair a little. "Content?" he repeated and she nodded.

"It was cute. Youre eyes were closing and everyfin." She said with a smile on her face. "It was adorabubble~" Eridan felt his cheeks tint his royal purple-maroon at that.

"I'm a prince. Wwe're not adorable, princess." He replied, his chin rising a bit as his eyes closed in a faintly cocky sense. Feferi drooped a bit.

"You know those are just titles, right? At the end of the day, you're just –Eridan and I'm just Feferi." She explained.

Eridan stared at her for a moment at that, not sure how to respond at first. "But… wwe _are_ princess and prince." He said. "That's something wwe can't change."

She sighed and looked away from him. After a little bit she breathed in deeply and softly said "I wish I could… but I know." looking down at cuttles a sad look entered her eyes.

The look she had said that he had upset her and he leaned forward a little, reaching out to place his hand over hers.

"You wwant to change being a princess?" he asked. "Wwhy?"

With his hand still on the back of hers she threaded her fingers through his and tightened her grip. "I wish that this title of princess wasn't such a huge one. That just because of my blood I'm above everyglub outside the castle walls. I'm treated differently just because I'm a princess. I want…" she trailed off, hesitating on her next words. Not everyone disliked the blood spectrum like she did. Eridan was Dualscar's son, the king who nearly killed Signless and his son for being mutants. She didn't know if he shared his father's views.

"You wwant… wwhat?" he asked, tightening his own grip on Feferi's hand. "Is it something… about the blood spectrum?" So many had problems because of it. She breathed in evenly, then nodded and looked Eridan square in the eye.

"Yes. I want to do away with the blood spectrum. So everyglub can be treated equally, with some control of coralse. But… no more blood racist fights, lowbloods having to clean up middle bloods' messes because middle bloods can get away with it. But… most of all…" she was half sure she was cutting off the circulation in his hand as she was nervous now. "I want to be able to find a place where… I can just be Feferi. I can be myself, say what I reely want to say and not get chastised for it. Find a place where blood doesn't matter." She hung her head so her hair covered her eyes.

Eridan nodded, watching her closely. "If you wwould like… that place can be here." He offered. "I'm not… blood racist like my father is. And wwhat I believe about royalty is from growing up here." He thought for a moment. "But… that doesn't mean I can't try to see things your wway about blood."

She looked at him with wide eyes, a quiet gasp escaping her lips. "Do… Do you reely mean that?" All her life she was told her views were wrong. When she fought and defended herself, she was always shot down by either Meenah or her mother, brutally too. Could she really have found a place where she could just… be free?

He nodded, smiling softly at her questioning. "Of course princess. I wwould nevver lie to you." he assured. "It may take me a bit to learn, but I wwill do my best to change wwhat I'vve learned. This wwill be our safe haven." He paused, then pulled back, fussing with his scarf as his cheeks tinted again. "If you wwant, that is."

Feferi felt a smile creep up on her face. The first smile, real anyway, she had had in days. She didn't know how to contain this sudden feeling of lightness, happiness, she couldn't control it. She threw her arms around his waist, her head colliding with his chest and he was nearly thrown backwards on the bed. He had been caught off guard to say the least, and he moved an arm back to catch himself so that they wouldn't fall back on the bed. "I'm glad that that pleases you, princess." He replied.

She nuzzled his chest happily. "Yes. More than I can say right now." She sat back up so she could look at him. "If you don't mind, I'm just Feferi right now. I'll even go by Fef." She smiled.

Fef… He liked that. It was cute. He offered her a light smile of his own. "Wwell pr- Fef. Wwould you like me to wwalk you back to your room? Are you tired yet?" he asked. She noticed the jus how tired she was feeling and she let out a particularly big yawn and giggled sheepishly.

"Would it be improper if I stayed in here for one night? Just one." She held up one finger and brought on the guppy eyes, as if she needed any help winning the prince's choice over.

"I don't… believe it wwould be improper." He said, trailing off at the end a little as he thought. The maids didn't enter unless he called, so it wasn't like anyone would know… If it did end up being improper by his father's standards. He looked to her and nodded. "You're wwelcome to stay the night." She jumped a little bit on the bed, then scampered over to the pillows and crawled under until she was at the edge where Eridan was and she poked hers and cuttles' head out.

"Heehee~"

Eridan smiled at her, finding how excited she was quite cute. He moved the blankets a bit, slipping under them as well. "Sleep wwell, Fef."

Feferi shifted back up to the pillows and snuggled on them. They were strong with his scent, cocoa butter mixed with cologne. It was strong, almost overpowering, but gentle too. She rather liked it. She turned over to Eridan, who was blushing and still had his scarf on. "Night –Eridan. Though, do you sleep with this on?" she asked, tugging a bit on one of the ends.

His hand flinched, moving to grab hers, though it stopped halfway there. "Yes… I do." He replied softly. "I havve for years." Feferi blinked a couple times, her curiosity growing, but she knew she shouldn't ask any further. Not now anyway.

"I sea. Alright then. I probably should warn you, I cuttle in my sleep. So don't be alarmed~" she then turned over so her back was to him and closed her eyes.

Eridan couldn't help but give a small smile at that. "I'll do my best, Fef." He replied as he rolled onto his side as well, closing his eyes.


	5. 5 A rare happiness

Eridan let out a soft yawn, his eyes remaining closed for a moment and he moved his hands up to rub his eyes, bumping the frame of his glasses. He had forgotten to take them off before falling asleep again, it seemed. Sitting up slowly he adjusted his scarf, looking over at Feferi whom was still asleep.

Voices. Screaming. Running away. Why were they running? Away from who? Him? He didn't understand.

Blood. All over his walls. On his hands. Purple-maroon. Candy red. Not again. NOT MOTHERFUCKING AGAIN.

Gamzee shot up in his bed, panting as if he had just run five miles. The headache that was threatening to split his head open wasn't helping either. He placed his hands over his eyes, the colors still blending behind his lids. Once the colors faded into black, he got up and made his way to dress himself in the first clean shirt within his grasp. Then he moved to his dresser where an unused brush laid next to a tin of slime. "Thank you messiahs for the grub." He said before he dug in, carrying the tin with himself to sit back on his bed.

Nepeta had been on her way to explore the building this time when she heard a few of the maids.

"I don't want to go in there, you do it." one said to the other.

"Are you kidding me?" the other asked. "It sounded like he was having another nightmare. I don't dare go in there again when he's had one."

Nepeta watched them pass, curious as to why they shared the same expression of mild panic as they spoke and Nepeta continued her gaze down the hall. They had come down from the hall that Gamzee's room was in. She continued her walk in that direction, falling silent for a moment as she listened for any immediate danger. Hearing none behind the door she reached out, knocking softly. "Gamzee? Are you alright?" she called.

Gamzee had just finished his pie tin when he heard the knock and Nepeta' voice. Perking up, he hat up a bit straighter. "Hey Nepsis, you're welcome to enter my sleeping quarters. Nothing is blocking you." She opened the door, ignoring the odd look she received from another maid who was walking down the hall, and closed the door behind herself.

"I heard the maids talking about you having a nightmare." She said, padding over toward him. She didn't sit on the bed, instead stood by and leaned against one of the wooden posts, holding onto it gently. "Are you…" her eyes caught sight of the tin that had trace amounts of an odd lime green substance, and curiosity crossed into them. "What's this?" she asked as she picked up said tin.

"Something that helps calm this motherfucker after the messiahs plague my dreams with bad visions." He answered. "But it does much more than just be a nightmare tonic." He crawled to her and dipped his fingers into what little slime was left, holding them up. "This is truly an elixir of miracles. Wanna try some?" he asked, holding his fingers an inch from her lips.

Nepeta looked up at his face, the paint faintly smeared from sleep, then down at the slime for a long moment before back up to his face. Miracle tonic? Leaning forward a little, she opened her mouth slowly to accept the odd substance. That was when the door opened and she flinched at the voice.

"Gamzee-" Eridan stopped there, watching Nepeta turn her head to him, her cheek brushing against Gamzee's fingers, smearing the slime onto her cheek. Eridan sighed, moving a few steps closer to them; that was when he realized it was slime that Gamzee had been offering her. "Gamzee!" he snapped, closing the distance between himself and the two of them, his hand darting out to grab Nepeta and pull her back from the purple blood. "Has that filth rotten your thinkpan _that_ much? Wwould you really do that to her?" he growled unaware of Nepeta's wince at his grip on her shoulder.

Gamzee held up his hands in mock surrender. "Whoa there Eribro. My think pan is intact, always has been. I think you need to chill your scarf and loosen your grip on Nepsis." He replied, grabbing a hold of Nepeta's arm, gently tugging on her. Eridan's eyes narrowed at him, and his grip didn't ease in the slightest.

"I told you that you needed to back off from her for a wwhile. A wwhile is not twelve hours and backing off is not sticking your slime covvered fingers in her mouth." He replied, trying to keep his voice even. If it wasn't for his knowing of what the smile did to Gamzee, how in control it kept the male, he would have been more worried about upsetting him. Right now though, Gamzee was threatening the happiness of the closest thing he had had to a friend in sweeps.

Ouch. Gamzee felt the response like a strike through his heart. To an untrained eye, there was no change in Gamzee. But Eridan knew better, and Gamzee knew what Eridan knew. His smile deflated ever so slightly and he looked a bit more awake. "Eribro's word is powerful. A motherfucker forgets. Sorry bro." he cleared his throat and licked the slime of his fingers. After grabbing the ribbon off his dresser, he headed out of his room. "You all know where I will be taking space." He said with a wave of his hand.

Nepeta watched him leave, frowning softly before she looked up at Eridan whom was still holding onto her arm. "It… it's not his fault." She started. "I came to check on him beclaws I heard the maids talking about him having a nightmare." She caught the glimpse of sympathy that flashed thought the higher blooded male's eyes before he turned his gaze from her.

"Fef wwants you to stay away from him. You knoww that." She gave him an off look.

"On a furst name basis with purrincess Feferi already?" she asked, watching the purple-maroon flood to his cheeks and he led her from the room toward her room.

While all of that was happening, Feferi woke up a few minutes after Eridan had but had feigned sleep while he was getting ready for the day. She wisely turned away when he dressed, squishing her face into one of his pillows. It made her head dizzy, and she oddly liked that feeling. The scent also made her feel safe and secured. She wanted to stay wrapped in that feeing, but she couldn't hide from being a princess forever. She would come back though, she knew this. After peeking out to make sure the coast was clear, she crept back into her room.

"Time to wake up, princess." She said to herself as Nepeta and Eridan entered the room. Turning to them, Feferi tilted her head to the side a little. "Nepeta, what's on your cheek?" she asked. Nepeta stared at her for a moment, confused before she raised a hand to her cheek, touching the slime.

"It's nothing to worry about princes." She said, smiling at the other as she left Eridan's grasp to get a rag to wipe the slime from her cheek. She couldn't help but wonder what it tasted like… Not to mention what Gamzee had meant when he talked about it. She didn't understand why Eridan had gotten so angry about Gamzee having her try it either.

Eridan gave Feferi his best comforting smile as he stepped toward her. "Did you sleep wwell?" he asked.

Feferi smiled back at him and nodded. "I did, and almost didn't want to get up this morning." She added with a wink.

Eridan nodded back, resisting chuckling at the second comment. "I'm glad you wwere able to be a little more comfortable." He said. "Is there anything you wwould like to do today?" he asked.

"Hmm…" she pondered, placing a hand on her chin. She walked over to the window and opened it up. She could have sworn she had seen… Yes! Running back to Eridan, she exclaimed "Swimming~!"

Nepeta giggled from where she stood, smiling at the two of them. _You and your swimming, purrincess._ She thought as she moved to sit on the bed, noticing that Eridan looked a little worried about swimming.

"I… If that is wwhat yo wwish, Fef." He said, ignoring Nepeta's curious stare at him.

It had been much too long since she last went swimming and it had been torture. She loved the sea, she felt connected to it. She always would sink to the bottom and let the water flow by and around her while she listened to the voice of the water. If anyone was her mother, it was the sea. Feferi had started to space out when she thought of swimming all day, and had even forgotten that Eridan was standing in font of her.

When she spaced out, Eridan suppressed the comment about her spacing out like Gamzee did. "Shall wwe go then?" he asked, moving his hand over hers.

A light frown crossed Nepeta's lips at that. If they were going off to swim, which she wasn't all that fond of doing herself, and she wasn't allowed to be around Gamzee, what was she supposed to do? Well, she _had_ told Gamzee that she wanted to help him in the garden…

Feferi snapped out of it when Eridan took her hand and nodded, bouncing with each nod. "YES! Let me just get my swimsuit on and I'll meet you at," she dragged him over to the window and pointed to the beach practically under her window. "Down there~" she finished. Eridan nodded, leaving the room to go to the kitchen to get a picnic for the two of them. Once he had it, he made his way to the beach.

Feferi turned back to Nepeta, asking "Nep? Water your plans for today?" She knew Nepeta was like a cat in the sense that she didn't like to swim, and didn't like water even when it was warm for a bath.

Nepeta gave a small shrug. "I don't have any plans." She replied with a soft smile. "I'm sure you'll have fun though. Being this close to the ocean is purrfect for you~"

"That's reely sweet of you to say. If you ever get bored, you're more than welcome to join us and take a cat nap on the rocks or somefin." She was saying all this as she fished out her swim suit and unhooked her dress, changing into her swimsuit.

"The garden looks softer than the rocks though." She said with a light giggle. "So I think I'll nap there by purrchance." She added with a smile.

Feferi turned her back to Nepeta, holding out the ribbons that needed to be threaded through the back of her swimsuit. "Tie for me?" She asked. Nepeta nodded, gladly tying the ribbon. "Will you be alright?" Feferi asked.

"I'm sure I will be." Nepeta replied with a smile. "I was purrfectly fine last night while you took a nap." She pointed out once he ribbon had been tied.

"Very true." Feferi nodded. "Thank you." She said once Nepeta had finished. Turning to face her friend she gave her a hug, then picked up a ribbon to tie back her hair. "I shell be off!" she squealed, padding towards the door. Nepeta watched her leave, waiting for a moment before she made her way out of the room and to the garden swiftly.

She reached the beach in no time, the sight breathtaking. The waves were calm, barely moving. The sun hit the water in a way that made it shine and glean. It was all so beautiful. "Oh…" She whispered, lost in her world as she headed slowly for the water, dipping her toes into it.

Eridan watched her as she made her way to the water, smiling softly. "I trust the wwater is to your liking?" he offered.

Feferi snapped out of her trance and looked over at Eridan. With a smile of her own she padded over to him and took his hands in her own. "It's absolutely beautiful here." She whispered. "Just… everyfin is…" she let out a breathy laugh. "Perfect."

"I'm vvery glad to hear that, seeing howw you wwere less than pleased wwith this place last night." He said, gripping her hands a little tighter.

She placed her forehead against his. "You changed that though. Thank you." she whispered. Eridan's cheeks faintly tinted at the touch and he closed his eyes.

"I'm glad that you hate my home less because of wwhat I said to you last night." He replied. She liked the way he smiled, his eyes closed making him look content. She felt elated that she could make him feel like that.

"Come into the water with me." She whispered suddenly. She couldn't describe it, but she felt like the ocean was calling for her. And she wanted Eridan to be a part of it. Pulling her hands from his she ran over to the water… but when she didn't hear him following she turned back to him. He hadn't moved from where he was. She held her hand out to him. "-Eridan, come on." She called.

Eridan winced, hoping she wouldn't have noticed until she had gotten into the water, and then would get distracted by the water enough not to pay attention to his lack of joining her. Or his lack of… enthusiasm for the water. "I'm fine back here. You do havve fun in the wwater." He called back.

Feferi's neck fins dropped. This was kind of odd. He was a seadweller just like her, why would he not be excited to come into the water. She supposed he was just not up to swimming today. That was okay, there was always tomorrow. Seeing a particularly big rock nearby she wasted no time climbing it, ripping the skirt of her swimsuit in the process, and jumping off in a dive.

The water was utterly freezing, but felt like a bath to her in contrast to the ice blood running in her veins. Once she was submerged she curled in a ball as her panic instinct kicked in. It always did when she switched from breathing with her lungs to the gills on her neck and sides.

The panic slowly subsided and she uncurled. Floating through the water she allowed herself to fall at the mercy of the currents to take her wherever they pleased. Her hair billowed and fanned out under her and she heard it; the call of the ocean.

_I'm home._ She thought.

Eridan watched her, smiling softly at the happiness that he could see and looked back up t the castle. He wanted to sketch this, but didn't want to leave Feferi by herself. He watched her swim up to about waist level of water, then resurface. She flung her hair back, her back arching slightly. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around at the water.

His cheeks turned a little darker than they had before, finding it strange to watch her yet he found it equally odd not to. "I trust you're enjoying yourself?" he called. If she didn't answer, maybe he would be able to sneak up to his room to get his sketch pad and then be back on the beach before she noticed he had left.

She made no reaction that would tell him she had actually heard him. She was lost in her own world and was deaf to the land above the sea. When Feferi had her fill of sitting on the rocks in the sun, she got back into the water. She submerged herself a bit to swim around before resurfacing in the same fashion as before. It was around then she noticed the tear on her swimsuit. She debated for a moment whether t keep it and fix later or simply… She tore off the strip. The suit was getting small after all, and it was old.

_Good._ Turning on his heel Eridan hurried back up to the castle, his room to grab his sketch pad and some pencils, then back to the beach as quickly as he could manage.

As soon as he got back to the beach he took place beside the picnic he had brought and flipped open to a new page. He soon had to flip to a second page, filling each with sketches of the princess.

Feferi had managed to work up an appetite after spending the day swimming, and made her way back to shore. Once the water was below her waist she began to wring it out, watching Eridan. Picking up a towel once she got to them she noticed that the sketchpad was a new addition to the scene she had left. Eridan had his chin and mouth covered by the scarf he wore, which Feferi found cute. His hand moved quickly over the page and he soon flipped to what Feferi would learn to be his fourth page, unable to help being curious as to what he was drawing.

Eridan looked up for a reference of the female, jumping a little to find her in front of himself. Setting the pencil in his hand aside he closed his sketchpad and looked up at her with a smile. "Enjoying the wwater?" he asked.

Feferi nodded, wrapping the town around her waist so it would dry her swimsuit. "So you draw, huh? What were you working on?" she asked, sitting beside him. He offered a small shrug.

"The wwater." He said. It wasn't exactly a lie. Just… not all of the truth.

"I would sink as a fellow seadweller you would at least go in the water for a little." She said before her eyes moved to the sketch pad. "May I sea what you drew?"

Wincing at the water comment Eridan chose to ignore it as his eyes followed her gaze to his sketch pad. Picking it up slowly he held it to her, albeit a little hesitantly. "They're not the best."

Feferi took the sketch pad and flipped through the pages carefully. Some were quick sketches while others took up the entire page, shading and all. They were amazing by her opinion and she soon reached the pages he just drew. Of… "Is… is that me?" she whispered, in complete awe. Nodding, Eridan fussed with his scarf, keeping his breathing as even as he could.

"Yes princess, I mean, Fef." He corrected. "Happiness isn't found a lot here, let alone happiness as pure as yours. I couldn't help but draww it." he explained. "You don't mind, do you?"

Feferi traced over the lines he drew. They were few, but detailed lines. There was no doubt, he captured everything in just a couple of pencil strokes. Her happiness, her contentness, everything. She looked up at him and back at the drawings, then held the sketchpad close to her chest, ducking her head down. So he wouldn't see…

When she lowered her head he moved a hand to her shoulder gently. "Fef? Wwhat is it?" he asked. Feferi shook her head and attempted to inhale without sniffing. Failing at that, she wiped a hand under her glasses. She needed to pull herself together. Eridan tensed a little, moving a hand to her chin to force her to look up at him. "Fef, the last thing I wwanted to do wwas upset you. I'm sorry." He said, eyebrows knitting together.

She shook her head. "I'm happy, just… feely happy." She sniffled. "I haven't been this happy in… cod, it's been too long. And here you have done such simple things that have brought smiles to my face since we met yesterday." She leaned against his shoulder. "How can I ever thank you?"

Eridan offered a small smile, rubbing his thumb against her cheek softly. "Your smile is all I wwant as thanks." He replied softly. She gasped softly, then closed her eyes as her cheeks warmed from his touch. She turned her face to him but kept her eyes downcast as she hid her face in his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his torso. Could he feel it? How hard he made her heart pound? She could have sworn she felt his, beating a bit faster than what would be normal for seadwellers. She liked it though, blind as to why.

Eridan was a little surprised when he felt her arms wrap around him and he slowly wrapped one of his own around her. Closing his eyes he breathed evenly and almost forgot they were beside the ocean. It was nice being so close to his fear and feeling so… at peace.

The only time she could remember dully relaxing like this was- well, last night, when she was with Eridan. It seemed he had to do basically nothing to make her smile, to make her relax. She liked it and wanted to hold onto these moments for as long as she was allowed to. She nuzzled his scarfed neck before setting her head on his lap, watching the waves.

"Can we stay like this? Stay in this place of no blood importance and just… breathe? For a little longer?" She whispered, a hand resting on his leg.

Eridan nodded, looking down at her. "Wwe can stay here as long as you wwant, Fef." He replied. Feferi felt her eyes grow heavy and a yawn escaped her lips.

"Sleepy…" she murmured.

"Are you wwanting to take a nap? Wwill this one backfire like the last one did?" he asked with a smile. Feferi giggled.

"Hopefully not. But if it does, I can hang out with you again, couldn't I?" she asked, turning to see his flushed face.

"Of course. You're wwelcome any time you wwant, Fef." He said as he continued to smile at her through the blush. "Any time at all."

"I'm glad." Feferi said. She reached up to place a hand on his cheek. She was not surprised to find his skin cool to the touch, of course that changed when a blush flared on his cheeks again. It was hard to see, but she could guess that he was a violet, a shade below her.

In troll culture, it was required when a troll was out and about to wear a symbol of their color somewhere in plain sight on their clothes. This made the lowbloods more susceptible to being pushed around and even as far as be denied business when the mid to high bloods got special privileges. Another thing she found unfair with the blood spectrum. Of course they were in the comfort of the kingdom, so there was no need to flaunt their color. She was sure she's find out eventually if her guess was night. She could wait.


	6. 6 Not slime

Gamzee was focused on weeding some rose bushes when he heard soft footsteps. He hoped it was who he thought it was. Nobody here was stupid enough to enter HIS garden without his approval. He turned and felt himself relax when he saw his favorite kitty pad up. Then he remembered he had been advised to stay away from her, so he turned back to the roses and tried to focus on weeding again. This resulted in him slicing his finger on a thorn. He stood up and just stared down at his hand, watching the purple blood seep up and spill down his finger.

"Gamzee!" Nepeta exclaimed when he cut himself, moving over to him quickly. She took his hand, pulling out a handkerchief, wrapping it around the cut finger. "Are you alright?" she asked. He had looked back at her, then away without a word… Why?

He looked down at their hands. "My blood is gonna stain that." His head was feeling a bit fuzzy. Well, fuzzier than usual. It was hard to concentrate on- anything, really, when she was around. All he could focus on was her hands, and how warm they felt. He liked the warmth, he envied the warmth. The higher the blood color, the colder the troll was. He liked her warmth though. He wanted to be wrapped in that warmth and feel loved, for once. But he was supposed to be staying away from her.

"You think I care about stains?" she asked. "I'm a meowbeast, I get stains all the time." she said, looking up at him. "Are you alright?" she repeated.

"I'm fine. The sun is smiling on us, the strawberries are ready to be picked. Why would I be less than on cloud twelve?

Nepeta watched his face carefully, then pulled the handkerchief back ro inspect the cut, dabbing at the blood when too much formed for her liking. "Well, the maids were talking about you having a nightmare… then you didn't say anything to me when I walked up." She was used to not being acknowledged, but Gamzee had paid more attention to her than he did to Feferi… She had begun getting used to that already and it saddened her a little to be losing that already.

He frowned when her saw her do so and he pulled back, turning away and starting to move from her. "Was just thinking about Eribro and him wanting me to make with the chalk lines between us." He drooped a little at the thought and stopped. "I have to fight all the voices in my thinkpan. Eribro's, Fefsis', the ever present messiah's and my own. One is telling me to stay away, the other is saying not to. The only think that might work is to stay away in order to get close but… I don't like that method." He looked back at her. "What should I do?" he asked.

Nepeta watched him closely, silent for a moment after his question. "Whatever you want to." She finally said. "Eridan doesn't control you and purrincess Feferi doesn't really control me. We should be able to do what we want." She thought for a moment. "And it's not like Feferi doesn't like you… she's just… cautious about people around me."

The lazy grin came back a little bit. "Well, that takes some weight off these bony things." He said, tapping one of his shoulders. He moved back to her and then got down on his knees, making him just below her eyelevel. "I don't want any chalk lines between us."

"I… I don't want any chalk lines between us either." She replied, wishing she was at least a little bigger so he didn't have to get onto the ground to compensate for the height difference. "But I'm not sure how easy that'll be with purrincess Feferi right now.

"Yeah." He stood back up and pulled the ribbon out of his pocket so he could tie his hair up. "Does she even know you're here?" he asked, stepping past her and to the strawberries. Nepeta followed him, kneeling down as he did in front of them.

"I told her I would be fine and that I was going to go exploring again." She said looking up at him. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her." He laughed at that.

"You're a mischievous one. I like it. And I can use your help today." He nodded toward the bushes in front of them. "Got all these little bros to pick before dark today. And was thinking about clipping some of those for the castle vases." He said, pointing to the rose bushes not too far from them. "Interested?"

Nepeta nodded with a smile. "Of course I want to help." She replied. "Do we get to eat any of the strawberries?" she asked, picking a few before she looked around for something to place them in.

Gamzee stood, moving to the nearby shed before he returned with a few baskets. "When we're all done, I promise strawberries and you'll get them. Let's get out picking on." He said, beginning to gently tug the strawberries off the vines.

She smiled and nodded, starting to pick as well. "Do you take care of this whole garden by yourself?" she asked, peaking up at him every now any and again.

"Yep." He said, popping the 'p'. "No one but me tends to this place of green. Course bros here know not to dare step foot in here either. But I like having you here, so you're welcome here." He explained, ruffling her hair.

She nodded, a soft giggle passing her lips as he ruffled her hair. But wait… They knew not to come here? Why? The way she saw it, it would be nice if he had someone to help him. He was alone a lot from what he had told her… Was it by choice?

Gamzee, of course, was completely oblivious to what she was thinking as he focused solely on picking the strawberries and the warmth sitting beside him. It was nice having her there helping him, and before long they had three baskets full with strawberries and the bushes were close to fully green once again.

"Motherfucking miracles." He said, standing to stretch his back backwards. He ended up touching his hands to the ground behind himself so he was in a bridge. He rocked a little until he heard a satisfying crack.

Nepeta's eyes widened and she stared in awe at seeing the expression of flexibility. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asked, turning her own body to try and look at him upside down, almost managing it.

"Naw, I've always been this flexible. It does make it more difficult to fully stretch though." He replied picking up his feet and balancing on his hands a bit before he stood and picked up two of the three baskets. "Let's run these in, then we can pick some roses." He said as she picked up the third basket. "Follow me."

Nepeta nodded, following closely behind him. "With your face paint and flexibility, you look like you could be one of the street purrformers purrincess Feferi and I see in the market~" she chimed with a giggle. Gamzee laughed at that.

"You know, I never thought about doing that. Guess it helps that I can juggle, huh?" he asked as they entered the kitchen. It was empty this time of day, so they placed the strawberry-filled baskets on the counter. The smell of fresh bread was in the air still, and he grabbed a loaf from the counter and offered it to her. "Made it after Eribro came in this morning." He said. She had been looking around the kitchen when he offered her the bread and she took it with a nod. Her eyes then lit up after she took a bite. "I like it~" she said smiling up at him. "And I do believe that juggling would very much come in handy if you wanted to purrform." She added.

"Well, I can get some juggle gear and show you what I can do. If you head back to the garden, I can go get some stuff if you'd like." He suggested. Nepeta nodded and turned, leaving the kitchen as she took to finishing off the loaf of bread, making her way back to the garden.

Soon Gamzee met back up with Nepeta. "Figured we could put the roses in here." He said, holing up a basket that held a few clubs and a tin of slime. Seeing Nepeta's look at the tin he picked it up. "Didn't know if you were still curious." He said as he dipped his finger into the tin and licked it clean. She made her way closer to him.

"I am still curious… But I'm also curious as to why purrince Eridan got so angry when you offered it to me earlier." She stated, her eyes shifting from his face to the tin and back as she spoke. He shrugged.

"He just doesn't like, or understand, the miracles of this elixir." He said, dipping his fingers in the tin and cleaning them once more, sitting criss cross on the ground. "A lick won't hurt you."

Nepeta nodded once slowly, reaching out to the tin. Once she collected some of the gooey concoction, she raised it to her lips and gave it a small lick. Flinching, she winced at the taste, using the side of the tin to wipe the rest off the best she could. "I don't see how you eat that." Gamzee almost dropped the tin with how hard he was laughing.

"You're motherfucking face!" he managed to get out through the laughter. He hadn't found anything as funny as her reaction on a long time. Nepeta gave him a confused look, frowning at him.

"What about my face?" she asked, leaning forward with her hands on her knees. "It tastes bad!"

"I have yet to meet anyone who likes this pie." He said as he managed to calm down. He picked up the tin, dipping his fingers in it before letting the slime drip into his mouth. "It's all good though. I'm gonna finish this if you want to start rose collecting."

Nepeta watched him, amazed he could eat that… whatever it was. She stood, picking up the basket before she made her way to the roses. They were quite beautiful, and she could tell that he took very good care of them. She began collecting them, but jerked her hand back when she pricked her finger, cutting the side of her hand as well. She stepped back from the rose bush, dropping the dozen she had collected as she let out a startled gasp.

Gamzee jerked his head up when he heard her gasp, setting the tin aside as she held her hand close to herself. She had… green liquid streaming ever so faintly down the side of her hand. "Hey sis, what's up?" he asked, standing and making his way to her. "Got some slime on your hand looks like." He observed, taking her hand in his. "I got it." He said bringing her hand close to his lips so he could stick his tongue out and lick the slime. He then froze.

That… wasn't slime.

Nepeta opened her mouth to argue or protest but his tongue stopped her voice in her throat before she could. A few moments passed before she found her voice again. "Th… that's not smile…" she said slowly as her cheeks turned fully green.

The olive blush he could see on her face convinced him. According to the blood spectrum that was engraved in every troll's mind, Nepeta was a midblood, but barely. Limebloods, the shade below her, were rarer than Tyrians, for they were hunted to very near extinction. Many trolls forgot that they existed and therefore mixed the mid-Olives with low-limes. Nepeta would have had to fight for her place among the midbloods all the time she lived in the village. Upon further inspection, her blood was a bit darker than his slime, and more liquidly. It was also warm to the touch. Many trolls were not fond of the Olive color, instead liked those of jade blood or higher. Yellow and below were disdainful in their minds. But Gamzee liked her olive color, quite a lot. One could even go as far as to say he found it beautiful on her.

Nepeta found his silence uncomforting and she tensed as her eyes searched his face. She was a good half way down the spectrum from him after all. Was that why? He didn't seem the type to chastise people because of their blood, but for all she knew he could be. She had only known him for a day after all. "G-Gamzee?" she asked, trying to pull her hand back.

"Hmm?" he replied, tightening his grip on her hand as he looked back up at her. That's right, she was still bleeding. He pulled the ribbon that kept his hair back and placed a kiss on the cut. "Eribro told me once that the salt in our bodies can help make a sweet shield against bad bros carrying infection." He explained as he wrapped her hand up with the ribbon. He picked up on of the roses she dropped and scratched a thorn against his palm, revealing his rich purple blood. He held out the cut hand for her to see, following the custom of sharing your own blood color when you were shown someone else's. However this was usually done in private setting among close friends and quadrant pairs only.

Nepeta's eyes widened a little when he cut himself, pulling the handkerchief out again, dabbing at the cut. "Gamzee, I know you're a purple blood." She said, her voice holding a little worry in it. A little hesitantly she then lowered her head and kisses the cut he had made. She placed the cloth over the cut once more, keeping her gaze down.

Gamzee felt his heart do a flip at her kissing his cut, then the lazy grin appeared on his face once more. Of course he now remembered he had nicked himself earlier. Oh well. "You want to get some knowledge from my thinkpan? I don't give a fuck about the blood spectrum. Not one. It causes unfairness and destroys people's lives." His eyes darkened a bit at the memory that popped up; of a loud mouthed nubby who never ran out of things to say. Gamzee shook his head. Not here. Not in front of Nepeta.

"I just think, why not combine everyone's blood?" he still had some of her on his fingers, so he dabbed at his cut and mixed the two colors together, enjoying the result he got. "We could make our own blood color. So I'm not above you and youre not below me. You like?" he asked, holding his bloody fingers out to her.

Nepeta watched his face as he spoke, slowly lowering her gaze to the bloody fingers he held out to her. "Gamzee… I don't really think that's how t works." She said almost inaudibly. "But… I thank you fur the thought." She added, looking up at him with a sad smile. His smile never faltered as he wiped his fingers on his pants and shrugged.

"Well, maybe like that, maybe not. But either way, blood spectrum be coming down in time. If you got the faith." He picked up the basket, forgetting about showing her his juggling with the clubs, then started walking off. "'Preciate the help today." He called over his sholder.

He was… leaving? Nepeta swallowed hard. He saw her blood, then he decided to leave. Just like… The fanged smile flashed through her mind, dragging a throbbing pain with it. Hands moving to grip her head, she sat right where she was in front of the roses. Gamzee continued walking, and would have turned back if he hadn't gotten distracted. He stood a few feet from and apple tree, a memory extracting Nepeta from his conscious.

"_But JAAAAAADE, they be taking TOO MUCH time to sprout. Mom is gonna be home in TWO DAYS! This garden stuff is DUMB!"_

"_Now Gamzee. You know shouting hurts my ears, they're as sensitive as a dog's."_

"_But THE- these… these stupid apple trees won't bloom. WHAT DID I DO WRONG-!?"_

"_GAMZEE SHOOSH! I CAN YELL TOO. Now, you did nothing wrong. You did everything perfectly. Now you need to wait. Remember this: you can do everything there is to do. But the good things come to those who wait."_

"… _Really?"_

"_Just WAIT. Jade is always right." _

"_THAT I never forget."_

Gamzee was brought back to the present, the voices disappearing as he walked up to the tree. He did have a fleeting thought; why was he bothering? She was just going to leave like the others… wasn't she? He just had this feeling that she was different. Or would be, as long as he was patient.


	7. 7 No more blood

Eridan again tilted his head against her hand. It was very comforting to feel her hand on his cheek and it calmed his nerved. "Evven if it wwas because of our parents' stupidity, I am vvery glad that you came here." Feferi ran her thumb long his chin.

"I guess I can't be too mad at my mother now that I've met you, huh?" she joked. Eridan actual laughed at that, then offered a small shrug.

"You can still be mad." He pointed out. "At least about her sending you here. But I hope you're not mad about meeting me in the process."

"Oh no! I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met you –Eridan." She exclaimed, sitting and taking his face in her hands. She pressed her forehead against his. "I was never this happy in my own castle. I can only hope I can sea you smile as much as you sea me smile."

That caught Eridan, and he gave her a bit of a confused look as he thought for a moment. He… didn't really smile all that much, did he? The thought made him chuckle softly. "I smile more wwith you than I havve wwith anyone else, Fef."

"Is that so?" she giggled. "I'm glad." She looked around and noticed that the day had slipped past them and it was already starting to get dark. "Oh my! Well, time seartainty swam by didn't it?" Feferi looked over at the full basket. "I don't know aboat you, but I'm starving." She said with another giggle.

Eridan followed her gaze, then reached over to pull the basket closer. "Wwith howw much fun you wwere having swwimming, I wwould imagine it wwould." He replied. "I hope I they packed something you like." He said, pulling out a couple of apples, a loaf of bread, and sliced cheese among other things.

"Oooh~ This looks so fresh!" she took an apple and bit into it. Crisp flavor burst into her mouth. "My cod! This is delicious!" she exclaimed, wasting no more time to continue eating the apple. Eridan picked up one as well, biting into it.

"Gam is the one wwho runs the garden. He brings in fresh fruits and vvegetables almost every day." He said, continuing to eat the apple.

"Reely? By himself? That's a huge garden." Feferi observed, reaching over for the break to break it into bits. "-Eridan~ Say ahh~" She giggled, holding up a piece of bread to his lips.

The faint maroon tinted his cheeks and he leaned forward, taking the piece of bread between his teeth before he pulled back, chewing it. "People offer to help him, but he nevver agrees. Most people learn to stay awway from there now."

"Stay away, huh? He's that possessive?" She pondered, nibbling on the break as well. It was so fresh and full of flavor.

"About the garden he is." Eridan replied. "None of the maids wwould be caught dead in there." He added. "I wwould advvise you to nevver go in there, unless he takes you wwith him."

"Oh my…" She trailed off. She supposed she could relate. She was very possessive over her viola. She wouldn't even et Nepeta touch it. Her teacher had been a very nice human who even at the age of fifty wore a black headband. This woman had a very grim sense of humor but knew how to lighten up a situation. It was her who gave Feferi her viola, and it was all she had left of her teacher. Feferi couldn't help but wonder if Gamzee was the same way with his garden. Breaking off some more pieces, she fed Eridan bit by bit of the bread.

Eridan allowed her to feed him, only to find it slightly odd. He was easily able to push it from his mind. "Promise me you wwill keep awway form there?" he requested. "You're free to wwander about anywwhere else in the castle…Just not the garden.

Fef blinked a couple of times, Eridan was serious about this. She nodded, "I-I promise." She sure didn't want to find out what happened if she enter that place. "I'll pass that onto to Nepeta as well..." With that, she brushed the crumbs off her hands and stood up. "Time to go back in before we lose all the light. As much as she didn't want the day to end, it had to. "Can we come back out again tomorrow?" she asked.

Eridan stood as well once he had packed the picnic back up and offered a soft smile. "If that is wwhat you wwould like, then yes. Wwe can come here as often as you like." He added.

Fef bounced on her toes in excitement, maybe she could get him into the water with her tomorrow. "Here, let me kelp." she said, grabbing the basket but made no move to pull it from him. It was if they were holding hands, with the basket as the middle man. "I sea you like drawing. What else do you like to do?"

Eridan started the walk back up to the castle. "Drawwing and playing the piano are really all I do in my spare time these days. I used to go off on advventures with my father but…that changed when he married The Grand Highblood." He explained.

"Orhpaner Dualscar! That must have been quite the experience, going on all those trips with him. Did the Grand High blood ban you from those?" She asked, swinging the basket a bit.

"Not exactly." he said, wincing at the flash of his father's face when he found out his son's secret. "Wwhat about you? Beside your vviola?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

Nepeta hadn't moved form where she had been left, the only change being that she had pulled her knees to her chest and rested her forehead atop of them. Her hands were still secure in her hair, and a faint "mew" escaped form her lips occasionally.

The look on his face did not go unnoticed from Fef, but she decided to go along with the subject change. "Well, I have a knack for sewing and I love animals. Epshelly Cuttlefish. She put her hands on her face and swayed this way and that. "They're so adorabubble! With their tentacles and how they change color an-" she froze. Listening. They were near the garden now.

Eridan frowned when she stopped talking and was about to ask what was wrong when he heard the soft sound. He glanced around himself, his eyes widening at the sight of Nepeta of all people curled up in the garden.

"Nepeta." was all Fef said as she sprinted to her friend. Or rather, attempted to when she was held back.

Gamzee was spacing out, leaning against the tree eating an apple when he heard the "mews" as they got louder. A meow beast, did one get into his garden? He got up and threw the core over the castle wall. "Kitty? Where you be? Here kitty?" He cooed, crawling around on his stomach, the roses forgotten.

Nepeta felt her entire body tense at the term, her breath catching in her throat. No. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be…right?

The mews were getting a lot louder now. He was checking the bushes at this point. "Kitty kitty~ I won't hurt you. Just come out now."

A whimper passed her lips and instincts took over. Her hands left her hair and she moved on all fours, struggling a little because of her dress. She managed to tuck herself in between the roses and one of the bushes, her pupils expanding out of fear.

"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur." he began to sing, practically sliding around on his stomach. "Happy kitty, sleepy kitty. Purr purr purr." he actually did purr at the end of his song.

Eridan held onto her wrist as tightly as he dared, trying to keep her back. "Feferi, I just told you not to go in there!" He hissed, his voice laced with panic. "Gam likes her, I'm pretty wwell convinced that she's safe. You, I'm not so sure about."

"I DON'T CARE." She pulled her hand form his and started into the garden, with Eridan in tow. "She's done this all her life. Not even her mother knows why she does this. But I know how to clam her down, so just le-" She tensed up again. "Is that…Gamzee?" oh shell no.

Dropping the basket, he hurried after her, grabbing her wrist tighter this time, rooting himself once he saw Gamzee. "He wwon't hurt her." he said firmly. I hope, he added mentally in his head.

She pushed Eridan into a nearby bush of blackberries and joined him. They were completely hidden and yet they could see everything. They were too deep in the garden now, but there was no way Fef was going to leave Nepeta. The second Gamzee did something she didn't like, she would take over.

The blackberries made him cringe a little, trying to keep his attention on Fef and what was going on with Gamzee and Nepeta, but keep clear of the thorns of the bush.

Fef was shaking at this point, she did not have a good feeling about this at all. What if he hurt her? She reached over and clung to Eridan's hand, digging her fingernails into his skin.

She wanted to throw something. Yell, scream, tell him to leave her alone but that would tell him where she was. If he found her…she shook her head, scooting back further. However, when her hand pressed hard on a massively thorned vine that lay on the ground. She cried out in pain.

Gamzee snapped his head in the direction of the sound, and a smile of accomplishment flashed on his face. He walked over to the bush and parted them. With the shadows cast over the creature, it was hard for Gamzee to see their face. Kind of a misshapen meow-beast. It was shaking and mewing though, so he didn't think much past that. "There you are, been looking for ya kitty." crouched down and reached a hand out. "Come on out, it's okay.

Eridan cringed at her grip, fighting with himself not to bite his lower lip. "Fef, wwe really shouldn't be here." He said, still trying to get her to leave. "She'll be alright, see?" He added as Nepeta looked up at Gamzee, her bleeding hand moving hesitantly to his.

"I'm not leaving until I know she's okay. I'm stubborn Eridan!" She snapped. She didn't mean to be cruel, but she was very protective over Nepeta. Especially when she was this vulnerable.

The smile faded from his face as realization hit him. It was Nepeta….How? She was fine when he left her. What had changed? What had made her hide? Brought this look of…terror to her face? He wanted run a hand over her eyes, to rid her of that fear. He settled for continuing to put his hand forward, until their fingertips were touching. "Hey Nepsis, it's me." He said softly. "What's got you all fearified?"

Her body relaxed a little when he finally stopped calling her kitty, though she shook her head at the question before she hung her head. Her fingers wrapped one of his, and the shaking eased a little. "Not… Not a kitty…"

It was kind of cute, how she latched onto his finger. But even he could sense something….behind those eyes. Memory flashes? He would black out though, sometimes during those flashes, with close to no knowledge as to what happened when he was memory lane walking. None the less, he shook his head. "No, you ain't no kitty. You is a troll." He shifted their hands so hers was interlaced with her, gave their hands a squeeze. "A cute mother fucker at that." he added with a laugh.

She nodded at the not being a kitty comment but flinched at cute. Not as bad as she would have with the word pretty, but still enough for her to become tense. "No…no more blood…please." she whimpered, tightening her grip on his hand as she lowered her head.

"You're bleeding again. Let me see. I'll make with the disappearing of it." he said, making little circles on her hand with his thumb. She was practically cutting of his circulation but he didn't give two flying shits. She needed help, and he'll do whatever it took to get her to smile.

Eridan was learning how stubborn she was and he couldn't help but wish she wasn't. "She looks fine to me." He said.

Fef shook her head, "No, she's not." She's seen it all before. Her curling up and mewing was the common form. It drove her nuts not knowing what happened to where Nepeta did this. "I've known her since she was three sweeps old, she's not okay." She loosened her grip on his hand now. Gamzee was handling this quite well, but she still had doubts.

"So she does this often?" He asked. "You should take her to someone wwho can help her then." He knew how bad Gamzee could get, and hoped that Nepeta wasn't prone to violence when like this.

Nepeta eased her grip on his hand, pulling it back so she could turn it palm up to show the ripped ribbon and the thorns imbedded into her skin.

Gamzee felt a little tug in chest at seeing her hand. With great gentleness, he turned her hand this way and that. She had at least four thorns in her palm, possibly more. It was really hard to see, the sun was down and the moon was dim at this point. He would need to move her to where there was better light. Sides, she might have more in her arms, she hid herself tight in the bush. "Nepsis, I'll make with the blood ridding, but I can't here. Do you trust me?" he asked, taking both her hands lightly in his.

She didn't want to, but the pain won and was slowly pulling her back into the present. Her pupils shifted back to normal and she slowly looked up at him. "I…I think so…" she said, her voice just above a whisper.

Fef shook her head, a frown setting on her face. "We've tried. She just won't open up to anyone…" She hung her head. "Not even me." She added.

Eridan frowned, holding her hand tightly. "Howw long…has she been like this? Howw often does…she get like this?" he asked.

"Well, her mother, Disciple, showed up on her doorstep aboat….six sweeps ago, begging for work. Disciple's husband had been culled in the war, a battle very close to their home, and Disciple couldn't support her and Nepeta was two sweeps then. All we know is some fin happened her father was culled. She went missing and was found curled up against the corpse, mewing and shaking. When I first met her, she only mewed. I didn't hear her talk until a quarter sweep later. She wore cat ears and a tail up till she was 6 sweeps old.."

Eridan's eyes widened and he looked to Gamzee and Nepeta, who were barely more than shadows at this point. "She could havve seen her father die." That could have been traumatic enough, couldn't it have been? "So she's been this wway the entire time you havve knowwn her?" He added softly.

"That is a possibility." Fef replied. "Her mother did tell me once that her father always called Nepeta his little CatNep or his little kitty." She sighed. "But… I can't help but feel that there's more to it." she added, looking back over at the pair. She couldn't see anything now, which worried her.

Gamzee had to lean in to catch what she said. At least her eyes were shifting back to normal. He nodded and reached out to her, to pull her out of the bush. "I'll take that much.." he murmured.

She didn't struggle, allowing herself to be pulled form the thorny hide-out she had crawled into with minimal tensing. Once she was out, Gamzee carefully and slowly lifted her up bridal style. He would put her down the millisecond she struggled against him.

"Do these fits happen for a reason? Or are they random?" Gamzee had triggers of his own, which dulled due to the slime. He just hoped he wouldn't try to get Nepeta on that horrid substance to "fix" her.

"I'm…I'm not shore. It's hard to say. There are triggers, but I haven't seen a pattern-" She stopped mid sentence, seeing Gamzee lift Nepeta up. She was about to shoot up form their hiding spot and rip her out of his grasp. But, she wasn't supposed to be here, there's no telling what would happen if they got caught. "Nepeta." she whispered.

It didn't make sense, as far as Eridan could understand. These things had patterns, didn't they? Didn't they always? When Gamzee passed by them, he pulled Feferi a bit further back, trying to diminish all chance of him seeing the two of them.

The coolness of his skin was felt through his shirt and she pressed the side of her face to chest. He was cold. His skin didn't feel like a heater to the touch and it was calming. Her eyes slid close as she went all but limp in arms, breathing carefully.

Gamzee let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. She didn't struggle. She felt like one of his baked pies, in his arms. Loose, but still keeping form. He couldn't help but ever so gently tightened his grip on her and bring her even closer to him. Going so far as to press a feather light kiss in her hair. If her hands were warm, then the rest of her small frame was like a fire in a grid. It was a nice change from the ice water running through his veins. He began walking back, his plan was to take her to his room, but that changed once he reached the hall and a certain troll ran up behind him.

Nepeta…she…clamed down completely once Gamzee held her. Fef…in all her times of calming her down, had never been able to achieve that as fast as he did. A little green envy stirred up in her chest. This would surely be a one time deal right? Who's to say he would be this successful again? She waited one, two, three seconds before sprinting off after the pair, leaving poor Eridan behind in the bush.

She looked behind them when she heard the footsteps and may have flinched it if had been anyone but Feferi. "Purrincess…I'm sorry...I didn't stay away from him like you wanted…" she said, turning her gaze away from princess and back to her bleeding hand.

Fef just shook her head. She couldn't say that she saw everything, not with Gamzee standing there. Judging from how he only had eyes for Nepeta and how he stepped back when she stepped forward, he was not letting go of her anytime soon. So she walked around pushed him, not too hard, in the direction of her room. "I'll get the first aid kit." she knew having a stranger, even a nurse, near her would overwhelm Nep. She turned and walked off.

Gamzee was a bit confused but eventually got the hint to go to Fef's room. Once in, he set Nep on the bed and sat next to her. "Can I see?" he asked, holding his hand out.

Wait…Feferi was letting him stay around her? She didn't understand but at the moment didn't care. When he asked to see her hand, she slowly allowed it move from pressed against her stomach to his hand.

She had quite the collection of thorns in her hand. Definitely more than four, and every single one drew blood that had dried and crusted by now. "Nepsis…"He whispered, concern in his voice.

Fef had returned, with a vial of disinfectant and some cotton along with some wraps. She set them on the nightstand, took in a deep breath and looked at Gamzee. "I'll…come by to check on her in a bit." she said, the envy weighing her heart down. "She...needs you right now I'll be across the hall. She turned to Nepeta and planted a kiss on her forehead. " We'll talk later okay? Scream if he does somefin you don't like." She murmured. With that, she walked out of the room and down the hall. She wrapped her arms around herself. "Eridan." she quietly called out.

Eridan was a little ways down the hall when he saw her and moved quickly moved to her side when he heard his name. "Is she alright?" he asked, taking her hand. "More importantly, are _you _alright?"

Fef swallowed and threw her arms around his neck. She felt like she wasn't need, that she was useless now. That Gamzee could do a much better job than she ever did and that maybe…Gamzee would be the one she told the reasoning behind these episodes.

When she latched onto him, he knew the answer to his question, and sighed softly. Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close.

Nepeta opened her mouth to call after Fef, but her voice caught in her throat. Feferi had always been there for her…and now she wasn't? And she was upset. It would have been hard not notice that. Nepeta dropped her gaze to her lap, swallowing hard.

Gamzee did see she was upset. He didn't think it was wise of Fef to leave. "Hey, do you want me to go bring her back? Just nod or do a headshake." he said. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

Nepeta nodded once. "But…not if she doesn't want to come back. I would understand." She hadn't gone out to find Feferi when she had gotten upset…She had just wanted to hide.

Gamzee nodded. "Be right back." with that, he got up and walked out. He knew she would stay nearby, and she did. She had latched onto Eridan, he could see her shoulder were held tense. Eridan was holding her, rubbing circles in her back. Gamzee walked over to the pair. "Fefsis, she needs you too." he simply said.

Fef pulled her face out of Eridan's shoulder and nodded. Gamzee turned around and walked back in. Fef tugged on Eridan's hand. "Stay with m-us?" she asked, not wanting to come off as needy but already failed.

Eridan nodded, taking her hand, holding it tightly. "Of course." he said before he led her back to the room. Nepeta hadn't moved a muscle, keeping her gaze away form her injured hand.

Fef trailed in after Gamzee. She didn't say anything as she climbed onto the bed and pulled Nep into her lap. "You got yourself pretty good on those thorns. She murmured.

Gamzee just watched for a bit, not sure of what to do. Should he leave? Let Fef take care of her? He didn't want to leave though, so he just shifted form foot to foot.

Eridan looked to Gamzee. "I wwould advvise you to help her or leavve.." he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nepeta gave a small nod, wincing as she became aware of the stinging again. "I don't think I like rose bushes anymore…"She said softly.

Gamzee snapped out of it when Nepeta started talking. "How bout those de-thorned Roses?" he suggested, pulling some tweezers out of the nightstand drawer. "This might hurt some." he said, taking her hand, pulling the ribbon off and plucking one thorn out.

Nepeta opened her mouth to respond, but then covered her mouth with her good hand to stifle the squeak of pain. "M…Maybe.." she said, her hand moving to grip Feferi's hand tightly.

Fef tucked Nepeta's head under her chin and tightened her grip on her. "It's okay." she shooshed.

Gamzee recoiled when she cried out, but had to keep going. He was not even close to being done. He wasted no more time plucking the rest out. "It's consumes time, dethornin' but it don't take none away from their mother fucking beauty." he commented, trying to get her to focus on anything but the pain.

She swallowed hard, pressing back against Feferi and trying as best she could with keeping her hand still. "I don't want to put you through the trouble unless you want them not to have thorns." she said.

Eridan watched form where he was, surprised by her blood color. "Olivve green?" he commented, more so to himself than anyone else in the room

Fef heard him though, but decided not to talk about it now. "You're doing great, he's almost done." she said, smoothing out Nepeta's hair.

"Would be no trouble at all." he grinned. And with the last pluck, he was done, with that part. He pulled out the cork for the vial and got some cotton wet. "Sorry sis, this be stinging elixir." he warned, dabbing lightly on the cuts.

Nepeta was glad that she could tell apart the different kinds of pain, otherwise she may have panicked at the stinging. Her breath hitched and her tightened on Feferi's hand as she forced herself to remain still.

"There. No more thorns." Gamzee said, picking a clean bit of cotton and swiped it over the cuts. "No more blood." Before Fef could say anything, he brought her hands to his lips, kissing two cuts at a time..

Fef blinked a couple of times at this, then turned to Eridan with the most confused look on her face. Eridan shifted a little, then shrugged. "Wwe wwere taught wwhen wwe wwere little that salt heals wwounds." He said as Nepeta stared at Gamzee, confused as well.

Gamzee just grinned and grabbed some bandages to wrap around the cuts.

Fef…honestly didn't know what to think at this time of night. She rubbed her eye under her glasses, a tiny headache forming.

Nepeta looked down at her lap, picking up the stained, ripped ribbon. "This'll be completely green by the time my hand is healed." She said. She had cut it on the rose bush, then got thorns stuck on it. Not a lucky hand, she guessed.

"It's all good. Better a ribbon ruined than a hand ruined." he commented, collecting all of the supplies and sticking them in the drawer, throwing away the ruined cotton. "Imagine you be worn out now. Getting late." He turned and walked back over to Nepeta, he took the ribbon and tied it around her hand, on top of the bandages. "You gonna be okay?"

She looked down at her hand, holding it to her chest as she nodded. "Yes…I'll be okay." she agreed as she became aware of how tired she was. When had that happened?

Eridan looked to Feferi, then Gamzee. "Wwe should and allow them to rest." he said, getting up form his place on the bed and over to the door.

"Sure." Gamzee gave Nepeta's knee a pat then turned to walk out.

"GAMZEE WAIT!" Fef called out once Gamzee was out the door. He turned around, almost falling over form turning to far. Fef shifted Nep off her lap and jumped off the bed, running over to Gamzee. She inhaled before saying, "Thank you, for looking after her." she said with a weighted heart.

Gamzee looked a bit confused but hey, wasn't yelling at her for being within breathing distance of Nep. Though, he was confused by her behavior earlier…Oh she was still standing there. "No motherfucking problem sis." He grinned "You two be sleeping good tonight." With that, he turned and head for his room, only bumping into one pillar. That was pretty good considering the short distance.

Nepeta was as shocked by Feferi as Gamzee was, if not more so. She watched Gamzee leave, then looked to Feferi. Maybe Feferi would let her be around him now? It would be nice not to have to sneak behind best friend's back. Eridan looked to Feferi, surprise and discomfort filtering his eyes. "I hope you rest wwell Fef." He said, a hand to moving to mess with his scarf.

Fef turned to Eridan and nodded. "You too. Sink you can meet me at the beach a little after sunrise tomorrow?" she asked.

"Of course. With another picnic?" he offered, hoping she had enjoyed that earlier.

"Yes please." She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder. "Thank you." she murmured.

His arms encircled hers and he held her for a moment. "You're wwelcome Fef." he replied softly.

She pulled back and gave him a smile before closing the door. Fef turned to see Nep staring at her in utter confusion. "Sink it's time to tell you…I…kinda spied on you in the garden during…yeah." she explained, walking over to the closet to pull out their night clothes.

Nepeta blinked, giving her an odd look. "You…huh?" She straightened up and turned so she could keep an eye on Feferi. "Why did you….?" she frowned, dropping her gaze. Feferi knew she was with Gamzee then, didn't she?

"Eridan and I were down at the beach and we were walking up when we saw you and heard Gamzee looking for you. "She explained. "Eridan wanted to leave but I insisted we stay. So I could be shore that you were okay and that he wasn't going to do any fin. I had a lot of doubts and un-seartainty but, he clammed you down reely fast. Betta than I ever did…"She trailed off. "Nepeta." she turned to face her, the bedclothes in her arms. She inhaled deeply, than exhaled. "I….still have doubts but…he cares aboat you so much. I could sea it in his eyes. You're almost nine full sweeps, almost an adult, I know you have good common sense. I can't…look after you forever, so…promise me…if you want to be near him…that you will be REELY CAREFUL. Can you promise me that?"

Nepeta wanted to protest about the rate Gamzee had calmed her down, but Feferi hadn't given her the chance before she asked for the promise. "You're….really worried about him aren't you?"

"I'm worried that he will hurt you, Worried aboat you in general." She admitted, helping Nepeta out of her torn, dirty dress.

Nepeta was silent until they were both in sleep ware. She sat back on the bed, running her hand over the ribbon. "I'm careful with evfurryone . Why would Gamzee be any different." she asked, keeping her gaze on the ribbon.

This was true, she was even careful with Fef. "Promise me at least?"

Nepeta looked up at her slowly, then nodded. "I purromise." She replied. "But you have to purromise me that you won't spy on me when I'm with him. I know you're trying to look out for me, but it's creepy!" she exclaimed, sticking her tongue out before she giggled.

Fef threw herself on the bed. "UGHHHHHH THE TORTURE YOU PUT ME THROUGH." She spazzed out then went limp, her tongue sticking out, acting like she was dead.

"You're are a queen of drama." Nepeta teased, patting Feferi's hair before crawling under the covers. "Besides, you don't see me spying on you when you went to purrince Eridan's room."

Fef shot up, her face full flushed Tyrian. She coughed to cover up her blush, but fail miserably. "Touché Nepeta, touché." She grumbled, climbing under the covers and pulling her friend into her arms. She wasn't leaving tonight, that was for sure.

Nepeta grinned at Feferi's blush and welcomed the cold skin her friend had. It was what calmed her fit's the most, knowing she was in the arms of someone with blood colder than her own. Blood colder than- Shaking her head, she buried her face into Feferi's neck and closed her eyes.


	8. 8 Water horrors

The sun crept into their room through the window, shining on the sleeping trolls and effectively stirring Fef from her slumber. She detangled herself from Nepeta, sitting up and stretching. While reaching her hand out for her glasses, she almost knocked over the vase….wait, vase? Now she found her glasses and could see. On the nightstand stood a tall, simple vase with a few fully bloomed roses. One was green, another was purple and the last one was red. She pulled one out, expecting thorns…but found none. Gamzee, he must have left those for Nepeta. Fef looked over at the troll, she had shifted so her ribboned hand was pressed against her chest, the other sprawled out on the bed, open and palm up. So Fef put the rose in her hand and got up to change. In no time at all, she found herself at the beach. It appeared Eridan wasn't here yet. She was a bit early, so she settled on a nearby rock, waiting,

Eridan tapped his foot a little impatiently as the cooks packed a picnic for him and Fef. Once done, he grabbed the basket and his shoulder bag with his art supplies and all but ran to the beach. Seeing Fef was already there, he set his bad and the basket down. "Wwhen you said sunrise, you wwere serious." he said, approaching her.

Fef looked up at Eridan, giggling. "If it involve water, I don't joke." She got off the rock and grabbed the basket, pulling out the blanket and opening it up. "So! I woke up to find a somebody left for someone." she smirked. "Do you have any knowledge of that?" she asked, plopping down on the blanket.

Eridan frowned a little at the question. Did she think he had left something for her? "Regretfully, I havve to say no." he said, helping with the blanket. "Maybe someone in the castle has devveloped a flush crush on you."

Fef giggled, wouldn't hurt to have a little fun with him, she thought. "MAYBE. It can't be kelped I guess." She pushed her hair over her shoulder in a dramatic flair. "I have SOOO MANY suitors fawn over me everywhere I go." she teased.

Eridan chuckled at that. "I don't see wwhy you wwouldn't." he replied, smiling at her as they sat on the blanket. "Are you hungry? Or do you wwant to swwim?"

Fef lightly hit his shoulder. "You're too sweet." she smiled. "I want to swim, but I want you to come in WITH ME!" She grabbed Eridan's hand and pulled him off the blanket and started running towards.

Eridan tried his best to pull back from her, failing at doing so. However when his feet touched the water, he rooted himself in the sand and he jerked back hard enough to send himself into the sand on his back.

As a result, Fef was pulled off balance and landed on top of him. She sat up a bit and looked at Eridan. His eyes, he looked so scared and he was all but breathing hard now. "Eridan..?"

"Ww-wwhat is it princess?" he asked, staring at her face without seeing really anything. His body quivered a little and he felt the gills on the sides of his neck and torso press tight enough to his skin to make him cough.

"Hey, hey it's okay. Look at me Eridan. I'm here." she said, a bit of panic creeping into her voice. His eyes were unfocused and he was having trouble breathing. It was almost like he was…having an episode? What was the trigger though….she looked back over at the sea, then back at him. Was it….the water?

He tried to swallow between coughing and trying to get water that wasn't there out of his lungs and getting air down this his throat properly. His hands gripped a fistful of sand and he pulled himself back a little but further form the water.

Fef ran around and dragged him backwards towards the blanket. Once there, Fef tilted his head to the side. He was acting like he was drowning and he was barely 'here' so if 'getting all the water he had swallowed' will calm him down, she'll do it.

Eridan's eye shut tightly, one hand moving to grip his scarf tightly. The coughing seemed to be only getting worse when he was fully on his back, his body tense.

"Eridan, you need to clam down. BREATHE." She was definitely panicking at this point. She pulled him up into a sitting position and rubbed his back, trying to subdue the coughing. She was afraid to get any liquid out in case it would only make thing worse. "What do I do?" she groaned.

It was close to ten minutes before the coughing eased and another ten before he was able to focus. He released his scarf, glancing up at Fef for a moment before looking back down. "I…I didn't wwant to have to see that…"

Fef didn't say anything at first, "Somefin…happened…in the water…am I right?" She asked, still lightly rubbing his back.

He shut his eyes, trying to cast away that flashed through his mind. "I can't…I can't do this. Not here." he said, his voice strained. But…That wasn't fair to her. She already had Nepeta and her episodes that weren't explained…she deserved some kind of answer. "Yes." he said, after a moment., his hand gripping his scarf again. "I almost drowwned…Twwice."

Fef covered her mouth with her hands as a gasp escaped. It was rare, really rare for a sea dweller to almost drown. Did he even know how to swim? "How…" she swallowed, reaching out to grab his hand. "What happened?

"Fell ovverboard on one of my father's trips…and wwhen he found out that…"he hesitated greatly. "Wwhen he found out I couldn't swwim…he threww me back in."

Fef's eyes widen and neck fins flared That made her so mad. "THE NEVER OF THAT MAN. THAT'S AWFUL!" She yelled. She couldn't help but feel guilty too, she probably dug up horrible memories for Eridan.

Eridan shook his head, pulling his hand from hers. "He had evvery reason to. Wwhat use is a sea dwweller wwho can't swwim." he explained.

"NO! Don't justify that horrabubble troll's actions. Swimming doesn't come naturally to every sea dweller. I mean I-" She stopped herself, looked back at the sea. "I had to teach myself how to swim. At like 4 sweeps. But Eridan." She turned back to face him. " There is just as much use for you than someglub who can swim. Maybe more."

Eridan didn't know if he could believe her as much as he wanted to… or as much as he wanted to…or as much as she seemed to want him to. But he nodded nonetheless. "If you say so Fef."

She nodded "I do." Now….What to do now? She looked back at the ocean and sighed, only one thing to do. "Hey, why don't we have our picnic in your room?" she offered, standing up and grabbing the basket.

He stood on legs that faintly shook. "Wwhat? Wwhat….about your swwimming?" he asked. That had been the reason they had come down to the beach for the picnic in the first place.

Fef shook her head. "I sink you and I have had enough of the sea today." her smile stayed intact as her fins drooped. "Probably for a awhale too." she muttered, more to herself than him. "Are you going to be okay?"

Eridan sighed as he picked up the blanket, folding it before he looked to her again. "I'm fine wwatching." he said. "I just can't…go in." added in a softer voice.

Fef shook her head, "It's no fair to you while I'm having fun out there and you're stuck here." she simply said, starting the walk back up to the castle.

"Fef, I'm fine wwatching you swwim." he said, following her. "I brought my sketch pad, I wwouldn't mind you swwimming. I don't mind at all." he pressed, though the argument was probably pointless.

Fef didn't say anything, too late to change her mind now. She wanted to swim, she loved being near the water but…not today.

When she said nothing, he finally gave up with a soft sigh. Why did he have to such a coward? Why couldn't he just...deal with the water? Why couldn't he learn to swim?

Eventually, they reached his room. They just ate in silence really, Fef was just in her own thoughts. She…felt horrible. For trying to force him to go into the water, for digging up those bad memories for him so he had an episode. Then she dragged him off, ignoring his insistence to stay. She just…couldn't after that…she wanted to repay him, not just as an apology, but for everything he's done for her. But…how?

Eridan watched her for a long moment, then found himself unable to take the silence. "Feferi, I'm sorry if I'vve upset you. I assure you, that wwas the last thing I wwanted to do."

Fef blinked back to reality, focusing on Eridan. He looked hurt, which just…added to everything else. "No, I should be apologizing. I shouldn't have pulled you into the water, when it was obvious you were uncomfortable from the start." her fins drooped even further as she held her arms out, wanting a cuttle she was sure she didn't deserve.

Eridan reached out, grabbing a hold of her and pulled her against himself. "I should havve told you that I didn't wwant to. Don't blame yourself please..

She didn't say anything for awhile, nuzzling his neck before settling against him. "I just…wanted you to experience it. The connection I have with the ocean. The voices, in some way, and even the feel of when underwater. I thought…You would be able to understand. No one in my castle did. Mother barely let my sister and I out there, the few moments were a treat. My sister though. Meenah, she lies…to push me and get under my skin. She wanted to push me out of my comfort zone, put me in binds to sea if I could get out of them. She went to far once. I almost died once, because of her. I was two sweeps old. She tied weights to my feet when I was asleep. She carried me out to the sea and pushed me in." her grip on his shirt turned to fists, as images swam in her mind. Waking up to water up her nose and down her lungs, struggling with the weights and full on freaking out.

Eridan shook his head, holding her close as he rested his chin on top of her head. "And you called my father evvil." he said softly.

"Heh, I know. There's more though." she said, clearing her throat. "I panicked, I couldn't breathe. I was shore I was going to die, but then, some fin happened. The waves became rough as if…they were trying to get my attention. I felt some fin envelope me, I became clam, calm, and was able to breathe through my gills, some fin I had never tried before since they were still developing at that time. I swear, the sea calmed me down, cleared my head so I could sink, think. I was able to untie the weights and float back up to the surface. Mother was furious with me, wouldn't believe when I told her what happened, said I was only jealous of Meenah it was an act for attention so she banned me form going out there until I "matured" She even had a wall built, with gates that she and Meenah had keys to. But, I wanted to sea if that incident would happen again or if it was all in my head, so I snuck out. It wasn't in my head, I felt it again, and I felt safe and secure in the sea. Not even almost-drowning could keep me out of the water."

Eridan listened carefully, nodding every now and again. "Evven though that happened to you, you wwere able to ovvercome that fear. I wwish that wwas true for evveryone." he said, closing his eyes.

Fef sighed, "I still…would like to be able to experience it, It's reely a beautiful thing…" she sat up, looking at him. "Would you….ever consider learning howw to swim?" she offered.

He wanted to flat out tell her no, that that would never happen…but found he couldn't say no to her. "I…could try." he said hesitantly.

"Are you shore? We can go as slow as you need to." she reached for his hand and interlaced it with her own. Then she realized what she said. "OH COD!" She screamed, hiding her face in his neck.

Eridan's face turned a dark shade of his purple maroon blood and he looked anywhere but at her. "Thank-you…"he said, finding no other response.

It took a bit for Fef to recover, but she eventually pulled her still flushed face from his neck. "Hehe SO….interested?" she asked awkwardly.

Eridan was hesitant to say the least, but nodded nonetheless. If it would make her happy, he would at least try. "Yes, Fef."

"Then, if you want, can go out tomorrow, or even toray. Whichever is fin." she said. "though a nap sounds nice right now. What do you sink?"

Eridan offered a smile at that. Resting seemed like a good idea. "Shall I wwalk you to your room?" he asked, standing up and offering his hand to help her up.

She took his hand to stand up, but was a bit "wobbly" "WHOA WHOA." she called out, attempting to walk but ended up sprawled on his bed. "MY LEG! Can't move." she flopped a bit, her face in the comforter. "What a shame." could barely be heard from her.

He laughed at that, moving to sit beside her on the bed. "Wwhat a shame." he repeated, pulling off his shoes before he laid beside her.

Fef wasted not time snuggling up next to him. She reached up and pulled his glasses off his face. "It's a shame you have to block those pretty eyes with these." she commented, placing them on the nightstand.

"The same for you Fef." he said when she moved back to him, carefully pulling off her goggle-like glasses. "It's just something wwe have to deal wwith." he added, shrugging.

"Yeah." she sighed lightly.. Once her glasses were off, she rested her head under her chin, her hands lightly placed on his chest. "Sea you in a bit." she yawned.

Eridan gave a small nod, his arms slowly encircling her as his eyes closed. "See you in a little wwhile."


	9. 9 Jade

Nepeta shifted a little, her open hand curling her fingers around…wait, what was that? Waking with a bit of a start, her eyes took a moment to focus on the rose. She tensed and her fingers coiled fully around the rose as instinct. When she didn't feel pain, she slowly opened her eyes, staring at the rose as she sat up. No thorns? She turned the purple rose, trying to think of how it had gotten to this color. Didn't… didn't blood help roses grow? And they altered in color if you gave something other than water, right? She focused on keeping her breathing even as she dressed quickly, grabbing the other roses as well before leaving in search of Gamzee.

Gamzee was in the garden again, watering some carrots. He couldn't help but wonder when Nepeta will be up. Will she like his gift? Did she even remember what happened? What if she now didn't like roses or his garden? He shook his head, too many thoughts burned the slime in his system and he didn't want that to happen yet.

Nepeta held the roses against her chest as she hurried through the castle. She check his room first, then headed for the garden, stopping a few feet from him. Her grip tightened on the roses and she panted softly, tears stinging her eyes faintly.

Gamzee head someone enter his garden, so she stilled his work for a moment. He could hear light panting and….it sounded broken too? He turned around. It was Nepeta, she had the roses he had thoroughly plucked all the thorns off this morning, clutched to her chest. She was panting a bit, had she been looking for him? Were those….tears? "Hey Nepsis." He got up and approached her, getting on his knees so he was a bit shorter than her. He reached up and wiped a tear away, his hand lingering a bit on her cheek. Nepeta wrapped her arms around his neck, crashing into his lap as her knees gave out. She sniffled softly, her eyes shut tightly as she buried her face into his neck.

Gamzee threw an arm out on the ground to brace himself when Nepeta pounced on him. Somehow, a honk was heard throughout all this. He was confused, hesitant but when she buried his head in his shoulder, Gamzee figured this was okay. He shifted so he was sitting with Nepeta between his legs. He wasted no time wrapping his arms around her and just…holding her tight. He actually felt warm; this is what he wanted, to hold her and be wrapped in her warmth, and he got it. "It was worth it." He said into her neck.

Nepeta felt her body slowly stop shaking and the sniffling stopped as well. "What…what was worth it?" she asked.

Gamzee pulled back so he could see her. Her eyes were a bit blood shot bit that didn't take away from her cuteness at all. He ran a finger under her eyes, to wipe away the tears. "Dethornin those roses." he simply said.

"Having me c-collapse onto you?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Gamzee laughed, she looked kinda frightened. "Well, gots myself a hug. And you ain't pale no more." he said, swiping some hair from her eyes. "You walking down better lane now?"

Nepeta nodded, closing her eyes slowly, her hand slowly moving over his. "You're almost as warm as my father was." she murmured. "But, if you were any warmer, I'm sure if last night would have gone the same way."

Gamzee tilted his head, "Well, I'm glad this cold blood got useful for once." he chuckled, playing a bit with his hands. "Can a brother ask what done happened so you resided in the roses?" he asked.

Nepeta shook her head, burying it against his neck again. "I don't remember…"she said softly. "I only remember being scared."

He embraced her once more, keeping her snug and wanting his cool skin to keep her content. "Don't matter now." he said, rubbing little circles into her back.

She nodded once, sighing softly. She wished he hadn't seen her like that…it was bad enough Feferi did on a semi-regular basis. She didn't need anyone else to know.

They stayed like that for awhile, just being with each other. He felt warm for once and he liked the feeling. Unfortunately, they couldn't say like that forever. "If you want, we can come back to this," he said. "Just a little bit behind choring and getting food to the kitchen. Wanna help out again?" he asked, pulling back a bit.

Nepeta looked up at him and nodded. "We don't have to come back to all this…heavy talk." she said with a smile. "And I would love to help you."

"Yeah, this conversin' is a bit too heavy. But will ya say no to the other part of this?" he asked, leaning down to nuzzle her neck like a little puppy.

Nepeta giggled at that. "You're like purrincess Feferi with the nuzzles." She chimed. "And I wouldn't mind continuing that at all." she added, smiling a little at him

Gamzee grinned. "Nuzzles are the shit. Least's that's one thing she and I got in the common zone." Since Nepeta was still on his lap, he picked her up bridal style so he could stand up. Once he was on this feet, he reluctantly, set her down. "Now, we done gots tons to do. Where do you like to start?"

Nepeta looked around, then pointed to the apple tree. "How about there!" she exclaimed.

Gamzee tensed up a bit, a memory flicking in his mind. Of frustration, an apple being thrown at him, the grave near that same tree…

As she made her way to the Apple tree, she reached up to start to climb. Four feet off the ground, she lost her grip, dropping right in front of a stone sticking up from the ground. She stared at it for a moment before she reached out, running her fingers over the engraved name. "Jade?"

"Jade?" The name snapped him out of his trance. He looked up to find Nepeta in front of, Her grave. Her birthday was coming up soon, too. Picking up the roses that Nepeta dropped, he walked over and crouched down. "I see you found her." He said, a bit of uncharacteristic sadness in his voice.

Nepeta looked up at him, then back to the headstone. "Who is she?" she asked

Gamzee looked down at the flowers then over at Nepeta. He set the flowers on the grave and got up, offering his hand out to her. "After we get some crops in, I'll tell you."

Nepeta set the last of the crops on the counter in the kitchen, smiling at the large haul they had brought in. "They all look so delicious." she exclaimed.

Gamzee brought in the last basket, a heavy one filled with potatoes that he set on the counter with a grunt. "They do, Good job Nepsis." he complemented. He did have small doubts about how much she could take on, given her small frame. But she kept up with him just fine and her size came in handy for climbing up tress to collect fruit. "Now, for your pay." he said, pulling out a small covered basket from the potatoes and handed it to her.

Nepeta smiled, uncovering the basket to find strawberries. She jumped up onto the counter, took a couple strawberries and biting into one happily. "I wish mama and I got paid like this back when we worked in the market." she chimed.

Gamzee grinned, grabbing a strawberry and tossing it in the air, effectively catching it with his teeth. "You worked in the market?" he asked. "What was that like?"

Nepeta watched him, then looked down to her bundle of strawberries. "When I was old enough to talk and stand on her own. Mama and I worked in the market, and I brought in what game I caught for us to sell…"she trailed off. "It was fun I guess. We had to stop once my father passed away, and I got sick…it didn't pay enough."

Gamzee grabbed another strawberry and nibbled on it. He had only been outside these walls a handful of times, only to people watch in the market and listen to…their gossip. "How did your dad die?" he asked.

She hadn't been expecting that to be what he had caught on form what she had said. "…The war…" She replied before a four-horned face flashed through her mind, the strawberries falling to the floor before she could catch them. Shaking her head, she kneeled down, picking them up.

"Nepsis, I got it." he said, picking up the last of the strawberries she dropped. "Guessing it was hard on ya, with your dad dying." he commented, standing back up and turning to wash them in the sink.

Nepeta jumped back up on the counter, looking to the roses they had collected. Well, that he collected, she didn't want to touch them unless they were dethorned. "I still had my mama. I wasn't alone like you were." she said.

Ouch, that did sting but hey, was the truth most of the time. "Wasn't always on the alone side of the company wall." he said, his bask turned to her. "I had Jade."

Nepeta looked to him, staring for a moment. "Who…who was she?" she asked. Would he tell her this time?

Gamzee didn't speak for a bit, but finally he turned around. "She was the gardener before me. Everything out there, she done planted. None plant wilted under her care." he started to explain, a faint smile on his lips. "My ma was always away, so Jade raised me. She was pretty old, but never acted like her age."

Nepeta gave a nod, smiling at his smile. "So all of the garden…we have her to thank for that." She offered.

Gamzee laughed, looking out the window where the garden was in view. "We do. She taught me a lot. Like the good shit comes to those who motherfucking wait. Taught me to be gentle and patient. She was stern at times, but she meant well."

Nepeta giggled at that. "I guess you were purrty impatient when you were little?" she said, holding a strawberry a little bit form his lips, pulling it away at the last second in a teasing matter.

Gamzee leaned in to take the strawberry and growled playfully when she pulled away. "Like you wouldn't believe." he admitted.

Nepeta giggled again, pleased by the reaction she got out of the trick. "You don't seem all that patient even now." she said, repeating the action.

He got closer that time but she pulled away again. There was that growl again. "I've got the patience of a sloth beast. But you." He leaned in very close to her face, his hands on either side of her on the counter, barring her form escaping. "Are testing it."

She was sure this would classify as not-being-careful with Gamzee, but it was too fun stop. She looked up at him, grinning playfully. "Who? Me?" She asked before popping the strawberry into her mouth.

He grinned, bopping her nose and rubbing it with his, not caring that he got paint on her. "Yes you. You little meowbeast." he teased.

She giggled, then reached up to his face. "Why do you wear this stuff anyway?" she asked, trying to wipe some of the face paint off.

He leaned back from her a bit. "Because, it's a smile." he pointed to the painted-on smile. "No bros wanna see frowns right?" he said, grabbing a strawberry from the basket with his teeth.

"That doesn't mean you have to paint one on." she said. "That's just as bad as a frown, isn't it?" she asked, holding a strawberry between her lips, nibbling on the small bit that was in her mouth.

He leaned forward and nibbled a bit off the other end of her strawberry before pulling back. Once it was swallowed, he said, "Maybe, but I feel weird without it now. Too motherfucking exposed otherwise." his grin dimmed a bit. "A bro told me once that I'm a book that done open for everyone to see. Not always a good thing."

Nepeta's cheeks tinted as how close his lips had gotten when he bit the strawberry, and she fell silent as she finished it. "It's not always a bad thing either." She pointed out.

He shrugged, "Guess." was all he said. He grabbed a smallish strawberry and nibbled on one end of it, mimicking Nepeta. Nepeta felt her cheeks darken as he repeated her action. She swallowed a little hard before she reached up, nipping the end of the strawberry. He saw her blush and couldn't help but think, "That was Jade's favorite color." Then a light bulb flickered in his head. "Hey, wanna see something wicked sweet?" he asked her.

_Wicked sweet?_ Nepeta thought as she watched his face. "Sure." she replied, jumping off the counter. "What is it?"

"Follow me." he said, grabbing her hand and the strawberries and headed out. Soon they found themselves in the garden, but in a new spot. It was a more secluded spot. In front of them stood a wooden gate with a particularly big lock on it. Gamzee pulled out a cord from his shirt, a necklace that had the key on it. "Only one other person was allowed in this garden before you came along. But…the bro never got to see this place so you be the first." he said as he unlocked the gate. The padlock fell to the floor, on his toe but that happened so many times he thought nothing of it now. He did hesitated though, looked over and Nepeta and nodded, more to himself than her and pushed open the gate.

Nepeta kept her gaze on him as he spoke. She found the nod a little curious, but pushed it aside as she turned to the now open gate. Her mouth fell partially open, her eyes widening as she stared. "It's….beautifur.." she breathed.

Gamzee smiled, a true smile as he watched her reaction. It always took his breath away too. Colorful flowers, ones that he had never seen anywhere else, crept up the walls of the contained area. Some taller than him and he was sure they could hold Nepeta's weight if she sat on one of them. Pumpkins took up one side on the garden, the vines creeping around the scattered trees and around the flowers. It as slightly chaotic but colorful, just like Jade. Gamzee stepped into the garden, into the large patch not claimed by any of the plants. Jade always fell asleep in this one spot. He sat down and just watched the flowers spin and change colors. "She was really old." he said. "One winter, a simple cold resided in her bones and turned into the human 'nomia thing. I was three sweeps old. She had a habit of visiting slumber land often too much. When I found her out her, she was sleeping like usual, but she bought a one way ticket to slumber land." he said, his back to Nepeta.

Nepeta stepped up close to him, though didn't sit. "She was…human?" she asked. They were more rare than Tyrian-bloods by a long shot and she herself had never seen one as far as she knew.

He nodded, "Don't know how she came to work here. She was just always here. Always…stayed." he trailed off

Nepeta winced a little at that, now standing next to him, his back still to her. "She was the only one who did…wasn't she?" she asked softly. He said his mother was always gone…and the maids…didn't seem to want anything to do with him…

"There was another bro. My age…but he was forced to leave." he simply said, not only did memories of Jade appear in his head, but Him too…Fuck, the pie was wearing off. He needed another one. He looked around the small basket and thank messiahs there was a small tin in there. His eyes were darkening it a bit, the small first sign, but they would go back to dilated once the tin was empty. So he began to eat.

The darkness in his eyes worried her a little, but she forced herself to stay where she was. She gave him a small sad smile, sitting down so her legs were under her. "You really like those, don't you?" she asked, collecting a small bit of slime on her finger again, bringing it to herself to inspect.

"This stuff's miracles in the best form ever." he simply replied. "Wonder how it would taste if I put some strawberries in here." he wondered out loud, holding the tin up and inspecting it closely.

"It might make it taste better." she giggled. Wiping the slime off on her skirt.


	10. 10 Kismefish

Fef was on her way to the beach. She had woken and had found a note that had been pushed under the door, in what was surely Eridan's handwriting. _Meet me at the beach when you wwake up. _Even his stutter was evident on paper. It had been a week since she found out he couldn't swim, They hadn't gone down there since then. He had said yes to learning how to swim but nothing was done after that. Did he finally want to learn how?

Eridan was standing on the beach, a path in the sand having been made from his pacing for about the last hour. While his scarf was present around his neck, he had managed to only dress in a pair of shorts that went a bit past his knees and a somewhat fitting shirt.

Fef dressed in her swimsuit just in case, and it was a good thing too. Eridan was dressed in much less than usual, he left his cape in his room and…was planning on going in the water today? She ran up to him from behind and jumped him. "POUNCE!" she yelled.

Eridan jumped when he heard and felt her, the ocean obviously making him tense. Taking a moment to catch his breath that she had made him lose, he looked back to her. "Good…Good Morning Fef." he said shakily.

"Hey." she smiled. "I came down as soon as I could. What was with the note and this get-up?" she asked, tugging a bit on his shirt.

Eridan stepped back a little, his chin disappearing into his scarf. "You…offered to help me swim."

Fef tilted her head, "I did. We can start by getting you into the eater, even if it's ankle deep. Small steps." she said, offering a hand to him. "Are you ready?"

"No, not really." he admitted, taking her hand. He kept his eyes on the ground, managing

To take three steps closer to the water before his hesitance stopped him. They were still a good three feet from the water.

Fef did have high hopes. But they were crashing fast. But then, she had an idea. He brought his art bag and she learned that he paints as well as draws. Wouldn't he have a bottle, for cleaning his brushes? "Wait here." she said, running over to his bag. Hopefully he wouldn't mind and she could clean it out later. She went over to the water and collected some. "Hold out your hands." she said once she was near him again.

She had gotten the bottle before he could tell her not to leave and then she stood in front of him. He watched her closely as he held out his hands. "What are you going to do? He asked.

Fef held up the bottle. "This water is from the ocean, directly. I'm going to pour some on your fins-hands. Will you let me?" she asked.

Eridan had felt himself stiffen and he had to force a nod and keep his mouth firmly close so he couldn't refuse.

She lowered the bottle, she could see how nervous he was, how tense he became. "Eridan, I'm not going to do this. You're shaking." she frowned.

Eridan shook his head. "Fef, do it." he said through a clenched jaw. When she didn't do immediately do so, he dropped his head, his hand curling into fists. "I'm tired of being a coward! If I thought that having you push me in would help me like it helped, I would."

Fef recoiled when he started yelling. Once he was finished, she just looked at him, deciding. He was still scared, but there was determination there too. So before she could second guess, she dumped the water on his hands and arms, closing her eyes in the process. He tensed again, but oddly enough with his feet still dry he didn't have as bad of a reaction. His breathing picked up, but he didn't feel like he was choking on water that wasn't there like he had before.

Feferi lowered the empty bottle. "Sea? It's okay. But, are you okay?" she asked. He responded… not badly, he breathed a bit too heavily for her liking and his eyes were clenched closed.

Eridan remained still and silent for close to ten minutes before he found his voice. "I think I wwill be.." Feferi nodded.

"So then, do you want to try getting your feet wet?" she asked. "Or somefin else?"

"Something else?" he asked, prying his eyes open as his shaking eased and he looked to her. "Wwhat else wwould there be to try?"

"Well, walking into the ocean. Getting your feet wet is another thing to try." She set the bottle down and grabbed his hands. "I'll go in first, walking backwards." She swiped a stray hair from his face and her hand staid on his cheek. "I'll be right here." She whispered. "Ok?"

Eridan nodded, and as badly as he wanted to back out he took a step forward, holding onto her hands tightly. "I don't knoww… howw far I'll be wwilling to go.." he warned. She took a step back as he stepped forward.

"That's okay. We'll go as far as you're willing to go. In this sense, not the other one P-ERV." She joked, trying to get him to loosen up. Eridan's cheeks flushed and he looked up at her, continuing forward without really noticing.

"I'll havve you knoww, my thoughts wwere nowhere near-" his voice caught in his throat when his foot hit the water, his body tensing again. Feferi switched her grip to his arms, rubbing up and down in an attempt to calm him down.

"-Eridan, its okay. The tide is calm, calm. Low tide. You're okay. I'm right here." She cooed and shoosed. His breathing had spiked to say the least, his eyes wide.

"I… calm…" he stammered, trying to calm himself down as she continued to rub his arms.

"Shh. You're wave above water, not drowning." A small tide came in, reaching no more than half an inch above their toes. "You're okay." She said as he flinched. He would have flinched back at feeling the water rise if he wasn't so deep rooted in his spot, too stiff to move. His breathing didn't decrease, but he wasn't shaking. Feferi continued to rub his arms, a little harder now. "-Eridan, you're doing swimmingly. Reely, reely well. I'm proud of you." She said, hoping that compliments would help relax him.

His grip on her arms tightened when she said 'swimmingly' but loosened after a moment. "Can… can wwe get out noww?" he asked, his stutter seeming to become worse. Feferi nodded.

"Of coralse –Eridan." She said. She was tempted now, by the water that was trailing over her feet. But she wanted to make sure he was okay. She walked him back over to a flat rock, helping him sit. Once he had he pulled his feet up from the water, his eyes still wide as his breathing eased a bit. Shaking his head after a bit he lowered it.

"I'm sorry Fef…"

"No, no –Eridan. I'm proud of you. You let me pour sea water on your hands AND you stood toe deep in the water for a good two minutes. It's a step in, pun intended." She gave him the biggest hug she could. "I'm glad, and I'm so proud of you." She praised. And she truly was, she was happy he to the initiative to combat his fears.

Eridan shook his head but held tightly onto her. "That's nothing compared to you swimming out wwere you cant feel the sand anymore."

"Shh. Soon, if you want to, you will get to that point. Don't belittle what you accomfished today." She pulled back and placed both hands on his face. "Please?" she begged.

"I'll… try not to." He said. He wouldn't promise her something he couldn't be sure of. And he wasn't sure he wouldn't belittle his, 'progress' as she called it, the next time.

Feferi didn't reply, simply holding his face for a little longer. Sadly she couldn't ignore the sea's call forever. "-Eridan." She pulled back. "I'm sorry but," she motioned to the water, then at herself a sheepish smile on her face.

Eridan gave a small nod, then dropped his gaze to his lap. "Go ahead. I'll wwait here." He replied softly. Feferi felt terrible… but she had been ignoring the sea's call for a week. She was able to go longer, but there was nothing really blocking her now. So she guided him over to the blanket and pulled out his sketch pad for him.

"I'll be fast." After thinking for a moment she planted a kiss on his forehead and dashed off into the water. Ankle deep, knee deep, she slowed down once she reached shoulder dep. She breathed in and lowered herself into the water. She could already feel the waves washing away every bad feeling, doubt, guilt, until she was left optimistic and happy. She curled up and planted herself on the bottom of the sanded floor. _Please,_ she said in a stream of bubbles. _Please give Eridan the strength to enter able be able to calm in your arms._ She felt something wash over her and she knew, he wish was heard.

Feferi just stayed curled up for a while, focusing on breathing through her gills and just clearing her mind. However, she didn't forget that she told Eridan she wouldn't stay in for long. Once she got a good fill she floated back up to the surface and swam back to shore. Once she was out and wringing her suit out, she noticed how Eridan was sitting. Sketch book closed at his side, him curled up and his face hidden in his arms. She felt something tug in her chest and the guilt came back. She wrung out her hair and suit as thoroughly as possible, then ran over to him uncurling him so she could slam him to the ground with a hug.

Eridan was startled when he was pulled from his ball of comfort, eyes wide as she held him against her. After a moment his eyes slid closed and he wrapped his arms around her as well.

They didn't move for a while, Eridan not really having much choice in the matter since he was hug-pinned by Feferi and she wasn't moving any time soon. She nuzzled his neck every once in a while, but stayed still and silent for the most part.

"Wwhy aren't you swwimming anymore?" he asked softly after a long while of silence, his grip on her loosening. Feferi shook her head, sitting up a bit.

"I did for a bit." She replied. She didn't want to tell him that it didn't feel right knowing he was on the beach, kicking himself for being scared of the water. "I got my fill." She said with some sort of smile.

"Fef, you'vve been awway from the wwater for a wweek. Last time you wwere out there all day and didn't get your fill." He sighed, looking away from her. "You're up here because of me." Feferi looked away as well, she didn't really have any response to that. True, she actually didn't get her fill but if she truly did want to get it, she'd have to practically live in the sea. As much as she liked that idea…

Eridan finally managed to stand, closing his eyes. "You should keep swwimming. It makes toy happy." He said as he picked up his sketch book and slid it back in his bag.

Feferi set her gaze on the blanket. "But seaing you smile… makes me happy too." She trailed off, her fins drooping.

That stopped him and he looked back at her before he sighed. "I' sorry Fef. I'm just… upset that I couldn't get further into the wwater before I had to quit."

Feferi stood and interlaced their hands together. "You reely should be proud of what you accomfished today though. And tomorrows a new day. Maybe you'll go further than you did today."

"Maybe." He said, picking up his bag. "I'm gong to head back up. Are toy going to stay dowwn here?" he asked, keeping his gaze from her. Feferi thought for a second, wanting to go with him but… She nodded. Better to leave him alone for a while. Eridan looked to her when he didn't hear a response, frowning softly. "Fef, I didn't mean to upset you." he said, sitting beside her again.

Feferi shook her head. "I'm more worried aboat if I upset you. And I nodded, you can go back up if you want. A bath sounds nice right now." She said, curling up. Eridan watched her for a moment, holding his hand to her.

"I wwon't leavve you out here by yourself."

"Alright." She said, standing and leaning against his arm as they walked back up to the castle.

Eridan felt a little better when she came without much a fight. He led her to the bathing wing of the castle, looking down at her. "Wwould you like me to wwait for you?" he asked.

Feferi looked up at him and winked. "You're free to join me~"

Eridan's cheeks lit up and he seemed to be feeling more like himself as he tugged at his scarf. "I don't think that wwould be a good idea." He replied.

"You need to lighten up Grumpygills~" she teased, pulling him into the bathing room. The baths were built into the ground, and one corner had two with a thin wall separating them. Perfect.

Eridan was helpless to resist her pulling and he found himself having a hard time looking at her. "Fef, I really don't knoww about this." He stuttered.

"Oh shoosh, it's fine. We'll use the divided one~" She squeaked, running over to the baths, starting them

Eridan followed her slowly, making sure to stay on his side of the divider. "Do you usually bath wwith Nepeta?" he asked. "Is that wwhy you wwant me to bathe here wwith you?"

"Mmhmm! We bathe with each other all the time! And there's a divider so NO P-E-EKING~" she giggled, untying her new swimsuit and letting it drop to the floor. He was planning on turning her head to tell her that he wouldn't when he heard her swimsuit drop. His head snapped forward and he shook it before he started to remove his own shirt.

Just because he was behaving didn't mean she was. She peeked around the divider for a nettle snipped of him exposed. His shirt was off and his back was to her. He wasn't buff, but he had some lean meat on those bones. She couldn't help but stare. He was… rather attractive… _Oh._ He was removing his scarf. Was, being the key word before she stepped forward and tripped over the towel bar.

In a flash his scarf was back around his neck and he hurried to her before realizing how bare she was and he looked away, offering her his hand. "Are… Are you alright?" he asked.

Feferi giggle nervously, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I-I'M FIN-E" she said a bit too loudly to be believable. That would be really embarrassing if she had to admit to being a peeping tom. "I sink I better check on the water. Do you have bubble stuff?" she asked, pulling a towel around herself.

"I'll get it." He said, pulling away and returning quickly with a bottle of bubble-soap. He set it on her side of the divider, then returned to his side. "Is there anything else you need?" he asked.

"Nope! Thank you though. Are you doing okay over there?" she asked as she popped the top off, pouring some mix into the bath.

"I'm fine." He said, moving his hands up to his scarf once again. With some hesitance he pulled it back off, his shorts being removed next before he slid into the bath. Feferi slid into the bubbly bath herself, sitting back with a comfortable sigh. The air became filled with humidity and Feferi grabbed some shampoo to lather her hair with.

"So I'm guessing it's just the sea that paralyzes you since you came in here without much struggle, reely." She said. Eridan nodded, then remembered that she couldn't see it.

"There's something about it being the ocean that scares me." He admitted, washing his own hair. "I guess it's because of the incident happening n the ocean."

"Maybe also because you can't control the ocean?" she offered, rinsing her hair. "I mean, here if you feel like you're going to drown, you can just pull the plug. But there's no plug in the ocean." She knew a troll once who had that problem.

"That could vvery wwell be wwhy." He replied. "I'vve nevver thought myself to be the kind to wwant control though." He added.

"You're royalty. As am I. It's our instinct to have control; over the small things, and the big ones. Otherwise, how can you expect to run a kingdom?" she explained. She was almost done now, finishing the washing over her body.

Eridan's hand ran along the silver like along the right side of his neck and he swallowed hard. Was that why Gamzee didn't want to be king? Because he knew he lacked control? "I guess you're right." He said, dropping his hand to wash the rest of his own body.

"I don't know. I could be wrong." She replied. "Thought it's nice to be right." She giggled. She was done by this point, but she stayed in got a few extra minutes to enjoy the water. "So who is going to be king? You or Gamzee?"

"He says he doesn't care to be king… but wwhat he doesn't knoww is wwhichevver of us fills their matesprit quadrant first wwill become king wwith out matesprits as our queen." He explained, wrapping a towel around himself, placing his scarf around his neck again.

Feferi could hear him splashing around and assumed he was getting out, so she stood up and grabbed a towel for herself and one for her hair. What he told her kind of shined a light for her; a reason as to why she was there. "So that's why Im here then? Because you two fail at filling quadrants?" she teased, popping her head around the divider to stick her tongue out at him.

That stung a little. "And howw many quadrants do you havve?" he replied, arching an eyebrow playfully at her. "Besides, wwe don't have girls around this kingdom often. Not long enough to fill a quadrant happily wwith anyway." Feferi did have to think for a moment as she dried her hair.

"Well, I don't have any Kismesis' or anemones. Nepeta could be considered a moirail, and I'm not austizing anyone." She wondered aloud, winding her towel around her hair. "But my red quadrant isn't filled yet either~" she teased, snapping him with her towel as she walked by with her clothing in her arm to change behind the curtain.

Eridan jumped at the crack of the towel, giving her a confused look. "So you have almost as many as I do." He commented, pulling his shirt back on, then his shorts.

"Maybe. Your turn for quadrant shaking~" She sing-songed as she dropped her towel, pulling her slip on. Sighing, Eridan thought that he should have seen that coming.

"Wwell… my moirail wwas forced to leavve this kingdom…" he admitted. "At least… I believe wwe wwere moirails…" he shook his head. "Obvviously no red quadrant and..." he trailed off for a moment. "That's all." He finished a little quickly, drying his hair off; careful of his horns as always.

Feferi came out from behind the screen, all dressed. "Finished that sentence reely quick. Have some black fish swimming around you?" she asked, coming up behind him.

"Black fish?" he asked, turning to face her as he fixed his scarf. "Wwhat do you mean by that?"

"Black fish. KISSM-ES-ES!" she exclaimed, tugging a little on his scarf. "Doooo you?"

Eridan grabbed the scarf, trying to keep how low it was pulled to a minimum. "Not exactly." He replied. "Wwell, more like not all the time." he corrected.

She scooted up closer to him, "Who is it?" she asked, getting up real close to his face.

Eridan wasn't sure if telling her would be the best of ideas. After all, he was better for the most part. His fits had eased it had been sweeps since the incident that caused him to fear and hate the male. He closed his eyes and sighed, "My step brother, Fef, Gamzee." He didn't hate Gamzee himself…more so he hated the sober side of Gamzee.

Fef stepped back a bit, some shock in her face. She wasn't sure what to think of this. Gamzee was Eridan's occasional Kismesis. Blackrom was usually built on hate, but not uncommon to be built on fear. Did Gamzee really do something that made Eridan consider him Blackrom? If so then that meant…Feferi was right.

Eridan opened his eyes to see her step back from him and he shook his head, turning to grab his wet towel. "I hope you don't drag Nepeta away from him." he said, running a hand through his hair. "He needs someone."

"Why does he 'need someone'? He had the garden and his messiahs or whatever he calls them. I mean, he's set!" She said with a laugh. But she was confused as to what Eridan meant by he needed someone. Eridan gave her a sad look before he turned his gaze from her.

"He's not like you, Fef. The garden isn't like the ocean is to you. He needs a friend, someone wwho wwon't leavve him." He said. He had tried to be close to him when the were little… But when that nubby troll was sentenced to death, he couldn't handle Gamzee anymore.

Feferi was even more confused now. There was more to be said that he wasn't telling her, but the bathing room wasn't the place for it.

"I sink we're done in the baths. Can we go back to your room?" Eridan nodded, then took lead from the bathroom to the sleeping hall, setting coarse for his room.

"Howw is Nepeta, but the wway? You havven't been around her much lately."

That stopped Feferi dead in her tracks, her hand dropping from his. She was about to answer when she realized… she didn't have an answer. It was true; she hadn't been spending… any time with Nepeta recently. Most, maybe even all… had gone to being with Eridan. Her heart sank, hoisted anchor down in the pits of her stomach, the weight bringing her to her knees. Guilt washed over her. She had even been sneaking out at night when she _knew_ Nepeta hated sleeping alone. What kind of a friend was she to do that?

When Feferi's hand left his own he stopped, looking back before he kneeled down in front of her. "Fef, I didn't mean to upset you." He said, taking her hand again. Feferi just shook her head. She needed to make this up to Nepeta. She _needed_ to see her. "Nep…"

Eridan paused, then nodded, helping her to her feet. "I'll help you to her." He said. "Do you have an idea where she is today?" He asked. That added more weight to her chest. She didn't have a clue as to where she would be. Or rather, where Gamzee would be.

"Wherever Gamzee is, she would be with him. Those two have attached each other to their hips." Was the only answer she could think of.


	11. 11 Little Sis

"Nepsis, Nepsis." Gamzee called out, shaking Nepeta in hopes of waking her up. He was bouncing with excitement and Nepeta was taking too long to wake up.

Nepeta was pulled from her dreams with a start and her hand grabbed his wrist tightly as her eyes flashed open. Her pupils returned to normal when her eyes focused on him and she jerked her hand from her wrist. "G-Gamzee?" she asked, sitting up before she rubbed her eyes. "What is it?"

He smiled really big. "Dress like the wind. I need to show the wicked sweet thing to you." he said, practically pushing her out of the bed.

Nepeta felt her cheeks darken. "I can't change with you in her Gamzee." she complained as she stood form the bed. She looked away from him, moving to her wardrobe pick out what to wear.

Gamzee flopped on the bed and covered his face with a pillow. "I won't look." he called out.

She turned back to him, puffing her cheeks out a little as if to pout. "That's not the same!" she exclaimed. "I'll be out in a few minutes."

Gamzee walked over and sprawled on her, in a hugging sense. "Aww, Nepsis don't want me to see her nice little body." he teased. In the course of one week, he had gotten very conferrable with Nepeta. This was becoming a bit of a normal occurrence in some shape or form.

Nepeta felt her face burn and she was sure he could feel it as well. "No, it's not proper for you to see it. With how we are, we need _something _that is proper." she pointed out. "And my body isn't nice." she added in a low voice as she looked away from him.

"I think it's nice and I don't be seeing anything wrong with our interacting." Gamzee said, heading for the door, not failing to trail his fingers along her shoulder as he left.

She watched him leave, waiting until he was out of the room and the door was been closed before she reached up, her finger touching where his had as she shivered a little. It stirred something…something she didn't understand. Shaking her head, she turned back to her wardrobe, changing quickly before she followed his path out of the room.

He had been leaning against a pillar outside, running the finger that touched her skin, along his cheek. He sighed contently. Lately, he had become forward, doing more things like that, her reactions were priceless and he liked them.

Nepeta had made her way to him, her cheeks still a little flushed. "Aright, so what is it you're so purrsistent that I see immediately?" she asked.

Gamzee grinned. "Follow me." he said before running off to the kitchens. Nepeta watched him for a moment, wincing when he hit each pillar as she followed after him. Once Nepeta caught up to him, he pulled her against his chest to stop her from going any further.

"Ok, she's a little shy to try to be on the quiet low." he grabber her hand and led her toward the back of the kitchen. Where a covered fort lay next to the stove. He lifted the blanket to reveal a black and white puppy, a year of two old, sleeping on the pile of blanket. One ear was still floppy while the other was pointed and there was a wrap around its leg, bloodstained sadly.

Nepeta stared curiously at the small woofbeast, reaching out slowly. However she pulled her hand back. "Where did you find her?" she asked, looking up at him.

"In Jade's garden. She had two dogs, one white and one black, that died a sweep ago. They were her companions when she traveled. Ancient when they died. They ran off after Jade died, and their bodies appeared a half sweep later. Didn't know they had a puppy they left behind." Gamzee reached out and pet the snoozing beast very gently. "Her leg was cut open and she's been fighting the hot bug. But the nurse said she'll be okay."

Nepeta nodded, watching the small creature sleep. "She's so… small." She breathed. Was that what people thought and saw when they saw her? "She looks like… one touch in the wrong spot could break her…" she had heard someone say that about her…

"She's small, but she's a fighter." Gamzee remarked. "Has to, to have done survive on her own for this long." He then grabbed Nepeta's hand and led it forward to the woofbeast. "She's so motherfucking soft, sis. And loves attention." Nepeta let him pull her hand to the dog, her cheeks tinting as she touched the soft fur. Gamzee shifted so he was behind Nepeta and wrapped his arms around her middle, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Did think of you when I found her. She's small but a fighter and just… adorable and pretty. Just like you. Nepeta shivered lightly, having to force herself not to jerk back. The action was reduced to a light flinch. She then pulled her hand back slowly, looking away from him.

"These really are things you should be saying to the purrincess." She said softly.

"But I don't wanna say them to her. I want to say them to you." he nuzzled her neck. "Sides, she's got Eribro trailing after her." He explained. Feferi was a nice troll, and didn't seem to hate him anymore but he had no desire to chase after her. Especially since it was clear to everyone that she only had eyes for Eridan.

_Things aren't always how you want them to be._ She thought, unable to voice the thought. "Still… you really _should_ compliment her from time to time." she pressed. The compliments were nice but… she didn't really know how to respond to them most of the time.

Gamzee groaned inwardly. He wanted her to like his compliments, but… he guessed he was doing it all wrong. How else was he supposed to- he sighed. "If that will sail your happy ship." He said.

Nepeta looked up at him. "If it makes purrincess Feferi happy, she'll be more likely to let us be around each other." She pointed out.

That would be a plus, he really liked being around her. He felt like a real troll, safe and sane. "Alright then." He sighed. He reached for one of her hands and interlaced it with his. "Me thinks she's gonna wake up soon." He commented. Nepeta looked to the woofbeast, watching her in silence for a few moments.

"What are you going to name her?" she asked, more than happy to change the topic.

"You know, haven't put any thinkings to that yet. Her parents namings were Becca and jack." He offered. The woofbeast's ears twitched as her eyes opened. She yawned and stretched. The small creature waking caused Nepeta to jerk back, bumping back against Gamzee in the process, and he caught her.

"Hey now, she's a sweet motherfucker." He said. "Hey there." He cooed, rubbing the top of her head. He shifted so he was next to Nepeta o he could gently lift the woofbeast onto his lap. She was able to balance on one front paw as she curiously sniffed Gamzee's hand, then head butt it, woofing softly.

Nepeta watched, her eyes wide as she staid exactly where she was. She was so used to anything that small, or simply smaller than her, being prey… Not something that was kept as a pet, thus making her unsure of what to do with it. The woofbeast had taken to using Gamzee's finger as a chew toy, but her teeth weren't developed fully so he didn't feel any pain. He actually laughed as it tickled.

"It doesn't hurt, Nepsis. Why so serious?" he asked when he looked up and noticed how tense Nepeta was.

"It… I'm used to hunting beasts like her." She said, dropping her gaze. "I don't really know what to do with it… since I'm not hunting it." She explained.

Gamzee tilted hid head. "That's right. To help support your family." He looked back down at the woofbeast who was still nibbling away on his finger. "Well, you get the loving on. Pet her. Feed her. Let her sleep on your bed. Those kinds of things. Can start by petting." He suggested.

Nepeta reached out slowly, but her hand stopped about an inch from touching the black and white creature. She was scared she was going to hurt the small thing… Had Gamzee really thought of her when he found her?

He could sense her hesitance. He had never seen her in action, but was sure she could do damage. But this woofbeast was kin of Becca and Jack, who Jade raised with guns. Runs in the blood to be tough. "One little pet won't hurt her." He grabbed her hand and placed it on the woofbeast's head, gently guiding it down her back before he let it go. "See? You were petting her earlier. Nothing to be scared of. Nepeta swallowed hard, repeating the action he had made her do, slower as if it would reduce any chance for her to hurt the beast.

Gamzee smiled, finding it cute how careful she was being with the puppy. And she was enjoying it by the way she was leaning against Nepeta's hand, her eyes closed. "See? She's fine Nepsis." He the got an idea. "What if her naming was Sis?"

Nepeta smiled, pulling her hand back carefully. "That's very fitting coming from you." She said with a soft giggle.

He chuckled. "You think so?" he asked. The woofbeast was nodding off again so he placed her back on the blankets, and pulled the cover back down. "You hungry?" he asked as he stood up, doing a back kick walk over to crack his back in the process.

Nepeta stood as well, his contortions bringing a small smile to her face. "I wouldn't mind eating." She replied.

"Sweet. What does the Nepsis want to consume?" he asked, pulling a pot and pan out of the cupboard. "I can make anything under the motherfucking sky."

Nepeta pulled herself up so she was sitting on the counter, her legs dangling over the edge of it. "Make whatever you want to. I'm not picky."

Gamzee thought for a moment then grinned. "Pies! Every bro loves them." He said as he went around the kitchen, finding all he would need for making pies.

"I hope you don't mean your slime pies." She said, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

"Naw. I is capable of making normal pies. Here." He handed her a small basket. "Go fill that with whatever you want from the garden. I'll be crust making." He said.

Taking the basket she hopped down from the counter and hurried from the kitchen. Once in the garden she kneeled in front of the strawberries and picked the few that she found that were red. Once finished she stood, tensing at the rustling sound behind herself. But when she turned, there was nothing in sight. Frowning softly to herself she turned, hurrying back to the kitchen.

Gamzee took the basket from her and looked in. "Red berries of the straw. Why don't my surprise lightbulbs flicker on?" he teased, ruffling Nepeta's hair. He had the dough made all he had t do was roll it out and get the clean tins filled with it. "Wanna start on the filling?" he asked.

"What do I do to make it?" she asked, looking up at him. "You can start by getting the wash and cut on." He replied, scooping some flour from the container on the counter onto the surface, dusting the counter with it. He dug the dough from the mixing bowl and slapped it on the counter so he could flatten and round it. Nepeta nodded, watching him for a moment before she moved to rinse the strawberries. Once they were clean she set them on the counter, starting to cut them.

Once the dough was flattened and in the pans he covered them and set them in one of the coolers. So they could 'firmafy' as Gamzee said to Nepeta, grabbing a bowl to put the cut strawberries in. When he did so, Nepeta's gaze followed him and she ended up nicking her finger on the knife. She was starting to think she needed to stay away from sharp things. Wincing, she pressed her hand to her skirt, trying to hide the green that escaped the cut.

"Do they taste better if the dough is firm?" She asked.

"Yep, makes the crust more flaky." He replied, turning to face her. He tilted his head and looked down, peeking at the skirted hand. "What's up here?" he asked. Nepeta forced a smile, taking a small step back from him.

"It's nothing." Nepeta said, grabbing a strawberry with her good hand, pressing it to his lips rather than playing keep-away with it like usual. He took the strawberry, being sure to lick her finger in the process, causing her to visibly shiver. He couldn't be fooled that easily. Well… sometimes, but not this time.

"Those knives are motherfucking sharp. I've knicked myself a couple times." He said, moving closer to her, Nepeta taking a step back again, running into the wall in the process.

"You s-seem to get cut a lot." She said softly, tightening her grip on her skirt with the hand that faintly bled as her heart sped up slightly. Gamzee placed his hands on either side of his head and slouched down to be level with her. She was shaking a bit, blushing too. Now that he knew her color, her blushes weren't so subtle to him.

"I can say the same for you. By the way, your cheeks all up and remind me of candy apples. Tasty." He commented, lifting on hand to cup her hearted cheek. She looked up into his purple eyes for a moment before she averted her gaze, her cheeks darkening to their full olive green. How was she supposed to respond to him comparing her cheeks to something he called tasty?

"I… I don't do it as much as you do." She replied, deciding to try and ignore the comment. For now any way.

"Are we contesting now? Keeping tabs?" he noticed that her hidden hand was lose now, so he got on his knees and took her hand inspecting it. It wasn't as bad as the thorns by a long shot. It was a long cut, but shallow. "If we are, you get points for this." He said, leaning forward to lick her wound.

Nepeta had planned to ask him what he meant by points, but then she felt his tongue. Her breath hitched, resulting in a soft squeak escaping her lips as her legs quivered beneath her. "G-Gamzee… mmnn…" her eyes shut tightly.

Gamzee couldn't lie, Nepeta squeaking his name like that… cut through him in a sense. It added to the other feelings that piled in his chest. He found it amusing and it encouraged him. He chuckled roughly. "You ain't react like this before." He smirked, licking over the found again, a bit slower this time.

Nepeta felt a shiver run through her, forcing herself to keep her breathing close to even. "You… You've never done th-this to me bef-fur…" she replied, not daring to open her eyes to look down at him. He had to bite back the small groan that threatened to escape. He pulled out a ribbon and tied it around the cut that was surely going to heal nicely now. He straightened up and looked to her, noticing just how ragged her breathing was. He… really liked that he could get her to react like that. Interlacing her ribboned hand with his, he spoke after a moment.

"Nepsis, look at me."

Nepeta slowly opened her eyes, hesitating before she looked up at him. "Y-yes Gamzee…?" she asked swallowing hard.

Gamzee leaned forward and licked her flushed cheek. Oh damn, was she burning up. He pulled back and licked his lips. "Taste like a candy apple too. With some miracle mixed in." He said with a grin. Her legs quivered beneath her, and she dropped her gaze as her head spun. An inch or so to the right and he would have licked- she cut her thoughts there as her eyes slid shut tightly once again.

"I… I think I should… Finish the pie f-filling." He could see that he needed to back off now, he was on that fragile line now. So he moved to the side and let her walk past him. He did admit to himself that he was enjoying himself; he was shaking a bit now himself. Moving to the counter, he picked up and handed her a bowl to mash the strawberries in. Taking the bowl with a soft thank you, Nepeta turned back to the strawberries, leaning against the counter for support.

It wasn't long before the filling was finished and Gamzee poured it in the pie tins. He noticed her move away from him when he did so, but decided to let her recover. He finished the pies, then placed them in the oven. Once the kitchen was cleaned up, he went back over to Sis to check on her. She twitched her ears and yawned again.

"Hey, is sis hungry?" He cooed, grabbing a bowl to pour some food in for the woofbeast. "There you go." He said, setting the bowl down and scratching her behind her ears.

Nepeta watched him for a long moment from where she was, though she soon moved to stand a few feet back from the two of them. With the way he acted, she didn't understand why people left him alone so much. Gamzee looked up at her, offering a smile.

"Hey Nepsis. What's up?" he asked.

"You're just… so gentle." She said. "I don't… understand why youre along a lot."

"Well, if you can figure that out, shoot it my way? I'm at a loss meself. Though, haven't thought much on it." he added with a shrug as he looked back to Sis. Nepeta offered a sad smile and a nod that he wouldn't see. She wanted to drape herself over him like often did to her, but she wasn't sure how proper that would be…

Like properness even mattered between them at this point.

Gamzee frowned a bit at her sad smile and reached up to ruffle her hair playfully. "Hey, no need to be upset. Just how things are." He said. "And 'sides, I'm not alone now. You're here." Nepeta tried to brighten her smile, but it didn't work the best. She said beside him, leaning against him with her head against his upper arm.

"If you say so." It had been a while since she did anything like this on her own; it always made his heart pick up in pace, and added color to his face. He smiled, laying a hand over hers.

"A little company is worth more to me than anything." He murmured. Nepeta nodded, feeling her eyes lids become heavy and her head bobbed as she yawned softly.

"I hope sis can help too."

Gamzee looked down; she was looking so cute right now. "Does Nepsis need to take a meowbeast nap?" He asked, running his fingers through her hair with his other hand.

"No… I'm awake…" She mumbled, her eyes remaining closed. She didn't understand why she was as tired as she was… the day was only half over!

"Sure you are." He chuckled, lowering the cover on sis' fort. "Let's get you to bed." He said. He stood up slowly so she wouldn't fall over and hurried to get the pies out of the oven as they were done. He then made his way back to her and picked her up bridal style. "Let's go."

Nepeta shook her head, nuzzling his chest in the process as she pressed the side of her head to his chest. "Not sleepy." She protested weakly.

"Yeah you are." Gamzee said, pushing open the door to his room with his foot. Thankfully, his bed was clear of horns and faygo bottles, so he placed Nepeta there. It was kind of stuffy in his room, so Gamzee pulled off his shirt and walked over to the window, opening it to get a breeze blowing in. He staid by the window, staring out it at nothing in particular.

Nepeta rolled over onto her side, looking over at him through half-lidded eyes. "Why did you bring me in here and not to Feferi's room?" she asked softly. She didn't mind, only found it odd. He usually took her to Feferi's room, after all.

Gamzee turned and saw her a bit more awake now. "Hey there sis. I donno, no reason. Want me to take you there?" he asked. Now that he was a bit cooled down, he went over to his shirt pile, looking for a clean one to put on. Nepeta shook her head, closing her eyes. "No, its fine. You don't seem to like wearing shirts." She said gently, yawning after.

He shrugged, but noticed she closed so she probably didn't see him nod. I donno, their social acceptable but I feel like trapped when I wear them." he walked over and sat on the edge, unsure of what to do now. He cleared his throat, "Do you…wanna nap in peace?"

Nepeta shook her head again. "I don't like sleeping alone. Purrincess Feferi has been leaving in the middle of the night more and more often…" she mumbled. May that was why she was so tired? Because the sleep she had been getting wasn't in the comfort of her best friend's arms?

Gamzee frowned, "Fefsis isn't being a good friend. But hey," He leaned over so his lower half was still seated on the bed while his upper half was over Nepeta, partially pinning her down. He leaned in really close so their faces were an inch or two apart. "I never say no to trolls creeping in my bed. Eribro used to do it when he was younger cuz he gets really bad mares of the night yo." he nuzzled her cheek, "door's always open, even when closed."

Nepeta turned her face up to him and opened her eyes to respond about Feferi, but his proximity shook her more awake as she stared up at him as she was nuzzled. "Gamzee…You still don't have a shirt on. I'm not sure you should..." she trailed off, looking away from his eyes. "Thank you." she said rather than finish her weak protest.

"I can go shirtify if it bothers you that much." He replied, noting that she seemed uncomfortable. "Should ward you that I sleep in the half nude." He added with a small grin. That mean she was going to have to get used to it, huh?

"I'm just… not used to someone who's so casual about being shirtless, and being that was about others being shirtless as well." She explained, her eyes closing as her cheeks tinting, memories of that morning filtering into her mind.

"Hey, if it bothers you that much, just wake me and I'll throw one on." He said, getting up to pull a shirt on. Once he was done, he came back and laid on his back half a foot from her. "Don't wanna make Nepsis uncomfortable." She rolled onto her side so she could look up at him, watching his face for a long moment.

"You focus on that a lot." She pointed out.

Gamzee looked over at her. The sun coming in shined on part of her face while the other part was not so bright. A hint at skeletons in the closet? He wouldn't be surprised. "Is that a bad thing?" he asked.

"Not really. It's just… different." She said. "A lot about you is different. That doesn't mean it's bad." She stated.

"So… my different… is good?" He asked her. He knew he was different from everyone else, and that was a fault rather than an asset in his eyes. All of the people that accepted his differences- well, he could count them on one hand.

Nepeta would have laughed if he didn't seem so serious about it. Instead she nodded. "If you weren't different, then you would be boring." She said with a smile. "Like Eridan~" she teased. Gamzee let out a laugh as well, manly of relief, that got louder and louder. He couldn't help it; he felt a little weight lift on his chest disappear.


	12. 12 Worries among moirails

Eridan planned to make a comment that it might take some time to find them, when he heard Gamzee's laughter coming from said male's room. He took Feferi by her hand, leading her to the room, knocking on then opening the door before he was granted access. Nepeta was sitting in front of Gamzee on his bed, giggling before she looked to the door. Her laughter stopped at the look on Feferi's face.

"Purrincess? What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nepeta…" Of course she was with Gamzee. Just like she had thought. Gamzee… the dangerous troll. Nepeta hunted game as early as two sweeps old. She had no sense of danger. So many conflicting emotions ran through her, overpowering her until she couldn't take it. Her world tilted as she became dizzy and her vision eventually went black. The last thing she heard was a duo of "Fef!"

Nepeta bolted to Feferi's side, pushing Eridan away when he tried to help. She sat behind Feferi, shifting the female so she was laying with her back against Nepeta's chest. "Purrincess? Hey, wake up…!" She whined softly. The princess was out cold, unable to hear her friend's plea.

Gamzee jumped off of the bed and moved quickly to Feferi's side, pulling her gently from Nepeta's grasp, laying her on her back on the floor. He checked her pulse, which was still there, then her breathing, which was close to normal. "She's still kicking, just fainted. Should wakin' soon." He looked over at Eridan. "Something happen earlier?"

Eridan winced at the question. "Not that I knoww of. I asked howw Nepeta wwas and she dropped to her knees." He replied

Was the ol' hindsight catching up to Feferi? Possible. "Let's get her to her room." Gamzee replied, picking Feferi up and walking down to her and Nepeta's room, said female and Eridan in toe. It was a close competition as to which looked more worried about the princess. Once Feferi was tucked in bed, Nepeta took residence beside her and Gamzee straightened, scratching the back on his head. Nepeta wasn't going to move until Feferi woke up, that much he was sure of. "Should we go exiting?" He asked, motioning towards the door. Eridan looked to him, then nodded with a soft sigh. He really shouldn't have brought Nepeta up. He turned, making his way through the door and to his own room.

Gamzee headed for his room too. Once the door was closed, he crossed over and flopped on his bed. Nepeta… The bed smelled of her now. Wince he was in the comfort of his room, he took no shame in curling up, inhaling her scent. He was giddy again, giddy enough to start laughing even. Nepeta said his different was good! All of his life he was marked as the bad weird. Had he found another person who accepted him? With how things were going, maybe she _would_ stay after all.

"nOw DoN't GeT cAuGhT uP bRo."

Gamzee shot up in his bed, fully alert, the previous giggyness gone.

"Who said that?"

"YoU kNoW wHo BrO. LOOK AT YOURSELF!"

Gamzee got up and walked over to the mirror and saw himself in the reflection. But it wasn't him; this Gamzee had marks all over his skin. The room in the reflection was… covered in blood. Those eyes… they were dark purple, a concentrated version of the color of his own. But his were usually dilated and milked over from the soper.

"ShE'lL rUn. ShE'lL rUn AnD lEaVe. OnCe ShE kNoWs WhO yOu ArE. WHO YOU REALLY ARE. WhO yOu TrY aNd HiDe. OnE dAy, YoU'lL rUn OuT oF hIdInG pLaCeS. AnD wHeN tHaT hApPeNs, BLOOD WILL SPILL AND PAINT THE WALLS. ReMeMbEr BrO. It GoEs BaCk To BlOod. ALWAYS GOES BACK TO BLOOD."

And with that the mirror shattered, the impact blasting Gamzee back against the bed. When he came to, the mirror was intact, as if nothing had happened. But the marks the mirror Gamzee had, they were on Gamzee now. They always were there, under the skin. He stared at them for a minute or so in horror until he shut his eyes and laid his head back on the bed. "I need a pie."

Feferi was floating, in water maybe? It felt like the ocean but… something was off. She looked around. "Hello!" she called out.

"Fef!" She heard a girl cry out. Was it Nepeta?

"Nep?"

"Fefurri!" That was definitely Nepeta.

"Hold on! I'm coming!"

She started to swim, fighting the massive resistance, when came into view a… catfish? It was olive green, and even wore the dark blue hat Nepeta used to wear. Was this…

"Nepeta?" She called. It _was_ Nepeta. Well, in fish form, anyway. But she didn't turn to Feferi because she heard Feferi. She heard… whatever was behind Feferi. The princess turned and saw- she screamed at the sight. It was Gamzee, but as a shark. He swam past Feferi and to the Nepeta fish, a grin on his face. The shark even had his face paint. Feferi screamed for Nepeta to swim away, but it was of no use. Nepfish nuzzled Gamshark, and he returned the nuzzling and licked her gills. That was when he bared his teeth and opened his mouth wide…

Feferi shot up in bed, breathing heavily, her vision blurred. Nepeta nearly jumped out of her skin when Feferi woke up, watching her for a moment before she crawled to the side so she was in front of the other female.

"Purrincess, it's okay." She soothed, taking Feferi's hand in her own, running her hand over the back of Feferi's. The princess reached around for her glasses in almost a panic. Once located and on her face, she noticed Nepeta. She was safe, and away from Gamzee. For now.

"Nepeta." Was all she said before pulling the troll into her lap, smoothing the girl's face into her chest. Nepeta shifted, looking up at her.

"Purrincess?" She asked, pulling back just enough to reach up and place a hand on her friend's cheek, frowning softly. "Purrincess, tell me what's wrong. Feferi shook her head, closing her eyes. She tightened her grip on the other and Nepeta tried to pull back from her. "Purrincess, tell me what's wrong! Please! I hardly see you fur a week, then when I do see you, you faint! Tell me what's wrong, I'm begging you!" She pleaded. Feferi breathed in carefully for a little bit.

"You haven't been getting good sleep, have you?"

The question threw Nepeta for a bit and she lowered her hand from Feferi's cheek. "I…" she looked down. "I just need to adjust." She replied softly. The heat was what she couldn't stand, and she always woke with a start, the panic present for however long it took for her to calm back down.

Feferi lowered her gaze to their hands, shaking her head. "I shouldn't be sneaking out at night. It's not fair to you. I've been spending so much time with –Eridan that I didn't have any time for you." she said, her fins drooping. It was Nepeta's turn to shake her head.

"It's fine, purrincess. Once I get used to sleeping alone it won't be a big deal." She said. "Besides, when you find your purrince, I can't expect you to want me to sleep in bed with you two. I have to sleep by myself. Like a big meowbeast." Now wasn't the time to tell Feferi that Gamzee had offered for her to sleep with him when Feferi left in the middle of the night.

"That's true." Feferi agreed. "But still, I shouldn't devote all my time to –Eridan." She gasped. "Nep! You have to hear this! –Eridan told me that whoever of the brothers fills their redrom first becomes king!" Nepeta's eyes widened at that and she stared at her friend for a moment. Could that be why- no. No. Definitely not. There was no way that…

"Does… does their redrom have to… have to be a purrincess?" She asked hesitantly. Feferi tilted her head in thought.

"You know, I don't sink he said. Why do you ask?" She put her face close to Nepeta's. "You got eyes for –Eridan?" she teased. Nepeta gave her a playful grin.

"Of course. That's exactly why I'm asking." She replied. "But with a purrincess like you, I'm not that much of a threat, am I?"

"Shhhh!" Feferi shooshed, placing her fingers to her friend's lips. "You don't know how cite you are. It's a shame, reely." She flopped face first into the bed, taking Nepeta with her. "I don't know how I feel knowing that tidbit." She admitted after a pause. Nepeta looked up at her.

"The thing about becoming king? She asked. It was a little unsettling knowing it. And it worried her, if she was honest with herself. Could that be… as much as she didn't want to think about it… it really could be why Gamzee acted the way he did. He knew Feferi wasn't interested in him, and wanted to be king. Feferi snapped her out of her thoughts by poking Nepeta's forehead.

"Why so serious? It would explain why the king wanted either Meenah or me. His son and stepson fail at wooing." She giggled before she sighed. Nepeta tried to think of a response. If Gamzee sucked at wooing, sh was scared to see someone who was a master at it.

"Well, I guess that does make sense." She said softly. "So… do you want to be queen?" She asked. Feferi sighed again, getting off the bed to pace a bit.

"I do want to be queen… always. I want to do away with the unfairness of the blood spectrum. But there was always the thought that mother was going to hand the kingdom to Meenah. But… Now I have an opportunity to become queen, but there's that hitch. To be honest, I'm not too happy aboat… pretty much having to be with one of them." She groaned, flopping back onto the bed.

Nepeta inwardly winced at 'one of them' which meant that Gamzee was still on the table for Feferi. "At… at least they're not the worst choices." She offered, forcing a believable smile. "Gamzee said that purrincess' and purrinces only marry to unite kingdoms… and that was all. It's not like either have to really be your matesprit, right?" she offered.

"Yeah. Thought I wanted my redrom to be filled with an actual Matesprit, not like this. Besides, I'm pretty shore that I don't fully belong to mother's kingdom anymore. She gave me up, so I have to pay for a war she caused." Feferi said. "To be honest, again, I'd rather be with –Eridan." She admitted, a full blush on her face. She stood rather quickly again. "I-I mean, you know me and Gamzee." She said, making meaningless hand motions to prove her point.

Nepeta's heart rose from where it had sunk to and she breathed a sign of relief. "Yeah, I know you and Gamzee." She said with a soft smile. She understood what Feferi meant about the redrom quadrant. It did seem like it would be nicer if it was with an actual matesprit. Feferi sat back on the bed, staring intently at Nepeta.

"This past week, have you been with Gamzee?" she asked, remembering her dream of Gamzee being the shark and Nepeta being the catfish. She never complained before about Feferi devoting her time to Eridan. Nepeta hesitated for a moment, then dropped her gaze to her lap, nodding.

"I got lonely. He was willing to keep me company." She said softly.

Feferi laughed a bit to relieve the pang of guilt. "It's funny, at the beginning I wanted you to stay away from him, but all I succeeded in doing was push you into his arms." Eridan's words earlier, of Gamzee needing someone who would stay, echoed in her mind. "He needs that. And you don't seem to mind giving it to him. The company." Feferi tilted Nepeta's chin up so they were looking eye to eye. "-Eridan is wary of him. Somefin happened a long time ago between them that made –Eridan wary of him. Have you been living up to your promise?"

It surprised Nepeta, hearing Feferi say that Gamzee needed someone to keep him company. Not that she was complaining. Her question almost made her gulp though she hid it with a nod. "Of course, purrincess. Any time he worries me I move away from him and he stops… whatever it was he was doing." She said, trying to find the best way to give her enough information to satisfy her.

That made feel a bit- wait. "Whatever he was doing?" Feferi repeated. "Is he… making moves on you?" Nepeta felt her face turn her full olive green and she shook her head.

"Purrince Gamzee would never!" She exclaimed. "He… he was having me pet a woofbeast he found… after a bit I pulled back because I wasn't comfortable petting her."

"… That's it? No wonder I got dragged here." Feferi said. "How big was the woofbeast?" Nepeta pushed the first comment aside, holding her hands up to show the size of the woofbeast.

"About this big." Nepeta said, holding her hands up about a foot of space between her palms. "She's still little though."

"Oh, I sea. I can sea why petting it would make you uncomfortable. Don't know if it's a pet or dinner when they're that size, right?" Nepeta nodded. "Anyfin else going on between you two?" she asked. "Details~"

Nepeta felt her cheeks heat up and she looked back down. "We…We have been taking care of the garden…and he's been teaching me how to bake…I don't know what you mean by details." she said softly.

"Anyfin you have to throw at me~" she exclaimed. "I mean I've been teaching Eridan how to swim."

"He doesn't know how to swim?" she asked with a curious look, glad there was a topic shift. "It's nice for you to teach him." she added with a smile.

"Yeah, some fin bad happened to him when he was younger and he never learned how. But once I'm done with him, he'll be a pro. He's…a reely slow learner though." she said with a sheepish laugh.

Nepeta giggled at that, smiling at her friends. "Maybe he'll be faster when he gets the hang out of it." she offered.

"Ohh maybe." she replied. "So Gamzee can bake huh? Never would have known that, what does he make?"

And it was back to Gamzee. "He says he can make anything." she said. "But I've only seen him make pies so far." she said

_Pies huh?_ "Huh, they any good?" she asked.

She offered a small shrug and a sheepish smile. "I don't know yet." she admitted. "I fell asleep befur I was able to try them." She looked down at her lap.

Wait, she and Eridan found them together in Gamzee's room. Fef gave her a wary look. "…You were in Gamzee's room….Were you when you 'fell asleep'?"

Nepeta shook her head. "We were with the woof beast in the kitchen." she said. "He set me on his bed, but I was awake again by then." she explained.

Fef got really close to her face. "You're not lying…" she pondered out loud. She straightened back up. "Do you….like hanging out with him?"

That seemed like an odd question since she spent so much time with him. She nodded none the less, looking down as her cheeks tinted. "Yes, I like spending time with him when you're busy." and that was what she did. She waited for the female to become busy with Eridan before she found Gamzee.

Nepeta's cheek went green more than once when talking about Gamzee, Fef noticed. It just added to the things she knew about Gamzee. It made her wary and she was getting a feeling that something was going to happen to Nepeta and Gamzee would be the cause…

When Feferi didn't respond, Nepeta looked up at her, concerned that she had said something wrong. "I'm sorry Purrincess." she said softly, averting her gaze from her friend. "I guess I should wait for you rather than go play in the garden."

Fef snapped out of it. "No no! It's okay. You have as much of a run of the place as I do." she reassured her. "As long as you live up to your promise."

Nepeta offered a smile at that, taking it as permission more than anything else.


	13. 13 Behind the scarf

_Eridan grimaced, his eye shifting from peacefully closed to a more struggled expression. His father was pulling on his scarf again, complaining about the other choosing to wear them on the voyage. He reached up, trying to pull the scarf back, but it only enraged his father who decided to pick him up by the scarf. Eridan began to cough, clawing at the scarf vainly. _

Fef woke up to the sound of…something. She wasn't sure what, a child struggling? She looked over at Nepeta, sound asleep and curled up against the pillow. "I'm sorry Nep." she whispered, pushing hair out of her eyes. With that, she was out the door. "HELLO?" she called out. No answer, except now the sound was clearly coming from…Eridan's room? She knocked, no reply of course, before she let herself in. The sight before her was terrifying. Eridan, sprawled out on his bed, a terrified and pained look evident in his face. His hands wrapped around the ends of his scarf, pulling…pulling…He was choking himself! "ERIDAN STOP!" she cried out, running over to his side and clambering onto his. She tried to unwrap his hands from the scarf, but his grip tightened if any. So she climbed on top of him, trying to get space between his neck and the scarf. She felt raised skin under her hands, she was only allowed that one second before hands ripped hers from his neck.

The feel of someone's hands touching the raised skin shook him awake, his hands grabbing into her wrists, panic filling his eyes. He panted heavily, finally able to breathe again and it took him a long moment to realize that Feferi was sitting on him, let alone the fact that he was holding onto her wrists. "F…Fef…What are you doing in here?"

Fef wasn't exactly breathing evenly herself. "You…I heard you from my room…you…" she tugged her hands a bit form him and thankfully, he let his grip slacken and drop. "You were pulling on your scarf…You almost choked yourself Eri…" she trailed off. Climbing off of him, she sat a little ways form him, pulling her knees and curling up. "I…"she swallowed. "I didn't know what to do.."

Eridan swallowed hard, sitting up before rubbed his neck underneath his scarf. "Did you…Did you see?" he asked, his body shaking ever so slightly.

Fef looked up at him, dear cod he was shaking. And he looked so scared. Fef shook her head, "I didn't sea any fin….I felt, some fin though." she admitted. She looked down at her hands, afraid to see her reaction. This had been bugging her since she saw him wear it bed…He was hiding something. "Eridan…why do you wear your scarf all the time?"

He wasn't looking forward to this at all. But he was sure he couldn't hide it from her anymore. He moved his hands up to the scarf, noticing how badly he was trembling. He swallowed hard, unwinding the fabric from his neck, revealing the long scar on the side of his neck, just shy of his jugular vein. "This is why."

Her jaw slowly dropped, a gasp escaping. Among the marks his scarf made on his neck, the raised flesh she had felt was a scar along the right of his throat a little above his collar bone. She scooted closer to him, reaching her hand out. "May I?" she asked.

He didn't like the idea, but before his brain could tell his body so, he took her hand and pressed it over the scar, releasing it once he had. "This…this is why Gamzee is my Kismesis." he said softly, closing his eyes.

Trying to be feather-light, she traced over his scar a couple times. It was old, long since healed, shallow too. Eridan was lucky, so lucky given how close it was to the jugular. Her hand that was tracing the scar settled on top of it, covering it as she looked up at him. Gamzee did this? "What happened?"

"He…He was always prone to fits when he was growing up…they got worse as sweeps went by." he explained. "He befriended a troll who we later learned was a mutant blood. When my father found out, he cast the troll and his father form our kingdom. Gam…he lost it after that." he trailed off for a while.

_This wasn't good at all. Why did his father have to- never mind that. He needed to find Gamzee and see if he was alright. Then he could try to think of the why's and the how's and the like. That nubby troll…of any of the people he knew, he was the last troll who deserved to be culled for his blood color. How did blood even mutate to a candy red color? Again, it wasn't important. He passed by the open kitchen doors and did a double take. "Gam?" the six sweep old male called out, stepping into the kitchen. Said male, half a sweep older than himself, had his back to Eridan as he slowly approached him._

_Footsteps…the smell…that stinking, overpowering smell…It was Eridan. A high blood…blood…dripping from his fingers…little cuts on one hand…a knife in the other…when did it become so bloody? "hey Eridan. Everything going okay for you? Course, everything always does, you're a high blood. A MOTHERFUCKING HIGHBLOOD!" His vision started to spin and shift, he saw other colors of personally known blood appear on his hands and on the counter. Candy red, differing only slightly to show whose was Karkat's and whose was Jade's, some unfortunate low blood maids. Such pretty colors, he had to give them that. "you know Eridan, I've been getting my think on. I FINALLY GOT MY MOTHERFUCKING UNDERSTANDING ON TO WHAT MAKES THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD GO ROUND." He turned around and swung the knife, getting his purple blood all over Eridan's face._

_Eridan flinched, his eyes sliding shut as the liquid hit his face. His eyes opened back up carefully and he reached up, touching the blood that hit him. "Gam…why are you bleedin?" he asked, taking a hesitant step closer to the other. "Gam, I wanted to find you to help calm you down." Did Gamzee know that Karkat was said to be culled? Was that why he was like this?_

_Gamzee tilted his head, cracking it and jumping up on the counter. "calm me down? I AM MOTHERFUCKING CALM. Calmer than I've been in sweeps You hear Karbros no longer gonna walk this planet. I DID, I KNOW ALL ABOUT THAT MOTHERFUCKING PLAN. Know why? I'LL TELL YOU. Blood, all because of his blood. MOTHER FUCKING." He swung his blade in a circle, spraying blood all over the place. "our parents didn't like his blood, doesn't fit on the spectrum. KARBRO'S WASN'T INCLUDED IN CONDENSE'S MOTHER FUCKING STUPID SPECTRUM. Karbro's a supposed freak, because of the mutating in his veins. Know who else had his color? HIS CANDY RED BLOOD COLOR? Jade. Know what happened to her? COLLAPSED FROM SICKNESS." He was rocking back and forth now, holding the knife to his chest like a precious item. "You know she still had some years ahead of her? If she got treated correctly? BUT SHE DIDN'T. Know why? Bros 'bove us denied her troll medical care. MEDICAL CARE THAT COULD DONE HAVE SAVED HER. But she was a human and candy red, double whammy. WHAT DOES THE SPECTRUM HAVE AGAINST CANDY RED? I like that color. DO YOU LIKE THAT COLOR?" he jammed the knife into the wood and dragged it along, making a dent._

_Eridan felt the need to run, but found himself unable to anything of the sort. "Gam…we need have to follow what they want. We can't oppose them, unless we want to get culled as well." he explained. How did Karkat manage to calm him down from these things? He didn't understand. He braved the last few steps closer to the other, daring to place a hand on his shoulder. "It's…it's going to be alright."_

_With fast reaction time, he pulled knife out of the counter and slashed Eridan's shirt, right across his heart. No blood drew, but Gamzee could see fain, faint veins in his swimming vision. Veins that carried blood. "Now that I think on it. I don't know your color. OF COURSE YOU'RE A HIGHBLOOD, YOU SPOILED MOTHERFUCKING BRAT. But how high is the color running through those veins. I WANT TO GET THAT MOTHERFUCKING KNOWING." he jumped off the counter and was toe to toe with the smaller troll, tracing the exposed veins with the tip of the knife._

_Eridan took a staggering step back, grabbing the counter behind him to catch himself so he wouldn't fall. He was already vulnerable enough, he didn't need to make himself more so. "Gam, mine is Maroon-Purple. Not much higher than yours." he said, knife over his veins starting to cause panic to sink into his legs and weigh them down. "Now you know, and you can put the knife down."_

_Gamzee grinned, the point where his eyes twitched. "But knowing is half the battle. HALF OF THE MOTHERFUCKING BATTLE. Seeing is the other half. I NEED TO SEE IT. I want to see it. SEE IT SPILL ON THE FLOOR, SPLATTERED THE WALLS. Show me, show me. SHOW ME YOUR MOTHERFUCKING BLOOD." he screamed, holding the knife up to swing down._

Eridan winced, having to stop there for a moment, the scar feeling like it was burning again. "Then he cut my neck., it was shallow because he had dulled it form jamming it into the counter," he said, trying to breathe evenly.

Feferi felt her heart just plummet down, a lump rising to her throat. She traced over the scar again. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

"When I think too much about it." he said. "But, it's a scar…so the pain is all in my head." he added.

She swallowed hard, "Is this…is this why you always wear this?" she asked, picking up the scarf and running a hand along it.

He nodded a bit. "Now anyway. I wore them before sometimes, but now.." he closed his eyes. "I can't even look at myself in the mirror without it."

"OH Eridan." That tore her, what in the glub ever possessed Gamzee to that to him? Something was seriously wrong with that troll. If he hadn't dulled the knife or…she shook her head, no use thinking about it now. She looked up from the scarf, but he was looking at his hands. He looked a lot…smaller without his scarf on. And he wasn't wearing his glasses. He looked so…exposed. She set the scarf aside and leaned in. "Tilt your head back?" she asked.

He gave her a wary look, but tilted his head back after a moment. "What…what are you going to do? He asked, his worry showing in his voice.

She answered by placing one hand on his shoulder and the other one on the back of his neck. She closed the distance and pressed her lips against his scar. She felt him tense up but didn't pull away. So she lifted her lips and pressed down again until she kissed every part of his scar. She pulled so she was eye to eye with him, her hands moving to lay on his chest. "The salt will kelp it heal. And." her cheeks warmed and she couldn't look at him now. "The scar. It doesn't take away from you at all. I still sink you're….reely nice looking." she murmured.

Eridan's eyes widen at that and he swallowed hard, purple-maroon flooding into his face once the panic faded. "I…thank you Fef." he said, looking away. "I don't know…how you could think that though..."

She shrugged, giggling a bit. Then she pulled him into a hug, nuzzling the scarred skin She noted that she had always nuzzled that spot before but there was always the scarf present but now it was on the bed away from his neck. "I don't know, I just do." she whispered against his skin.

He tried to hide the light cringe he gave at the nuzzling his now bare skin, managing not to panic this time. "I guess I should be grateful that you accept the scar," he murmured.

"Of coralse I do. You're still the same Eridan to me. Besides, girls have a weakness for scars." she giggled.

That surely threw him for a loop. "Really?" he asked, looking to her. Maybe that was why he hadn't been able to land a mate sprit…

"Well, at least I am. It's a sign you survived some fin big and you did. You were trying to kelp Gamzee but he attacked you." she explained. "It's…a little concerning to sink that if he had just…..hit the main vein or some fin…" her grip tightened on him.

Eridan nodded, pulling back form her to wrap his scarf around his neck. "That was all I could think about for a while after it happened.." he replied.

Fef stopped him before he could finish wrapping the scarf, holding onto his hand. "Um…Sink you could leave it off tonight? I don't want you to choke again/" she said. Wearing scarves to bed was not a good idea in the first place.

Eridan hesitated before sighing deeply, placing the scarf on his night stand. He couldn't manage to say no to her could he?

Fef smiled at him, the flopped on the bed. "Thank you~ Shell we sleep now?" she giggled, looking back up at him.

Eridan laid back down beside her. "If you would like, Fef." he offered. Perhaps if she fell asleep first, he could at least lay the scarf over his neck.

Fef snuggled up to him, placing a hand over his scar. "If you get anymore nightmares, it'll be okay. I'll hold you till the bad visions go away. The least I can do to pay back a fraction of the kindness you've showed me." she said, her face flushing and her hand moving up to cup her face.

Eridan felt his face flush and he nodded, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch.

Fef leaned in and pressed a kiss in the center of his throat before settling against his chest. "Goodnight Eridan." she yawned, closing her eyes.

He swallowed hard. "Good night Fef." he replied, closing his eyes.


	14. 14 Am I safe?

Nepeta opened her eyes slowly, not surprised to see Feferi missing from the bed again. She had stayed in the room two or three times a week for both of the two weeks that had passed since they had talked about Gamzee and Eridan. Still, she sat up, thinking for a long moment. She had all but been a zombie the day before because she hadn't been able to sleep…should she really take Gamzee's offer finally? Before she could answer the question, she found herself walking down the hall and in front of his door. Hesitantly she stepped in, and seeing that he was asleep, deciding to let him stay asleep, crawled into the bed. On as far of the other side as far as she could.

Nepeta had managed to fall asleep, thought it wasn't long before her temperature rose. His blanket was thick and his window closed and she couldn't feel the coolness of his skin. She felt the blood though. _Blue blood, warm now that it was out of his body, coated her hands. Black hair covered his face and whatever expression it held. "Kitty, kitty." A voice echoed, making her tense and freeze. The voice grew louder and she looked over at red and blue eyes that moved closer and closer before yellow-hot arms wrapped around her, pinning her to the ground when she tried to run. "You're cute."_ he purred in her ear as she clawed at the ground, clawing at the bedding in the real world, faint whispers and mews passing her lips.

Gamzee woke up to the sound of mewing…he was confused and groggy, a meow beast? That was the second one he heard in a month. But then the fogginess cleared and he felt the bed shake slightly. Rolling over and reaching out, he felt something small, curvy and nice even if she won't admit it, it was Nepeta. "Hey Nepsis, make with the wake." he said, shaking her a bit.

Nepeta scrunched her face up as she struggled against his touch for a long moment before she jumped awake. The yellow tinted gray face faded to one with much larger horns and one tinted purple. She opened her mouth to say his name. but only a mew escaped.

Gamzee tilted his head, confused. Why was she mewing? Was she being a kitty again? "Hey Nepsis, why the kitty phase?" he asked, rubbing her arm. "What were you dreaming about?"

The blue and red gaze flashed over his and she jerked back and out of the bed, crashing on the floor with a faint whine. "Mew…" she squeaked, her knees to her chest and her hands clamped over her ears.

Gamzee tried to catch her before she fell off the bed but her actions were fast. He jumped out of the and ran over to her. "Hey Nepsis, it's all good. What's wrong?" he asked, concern in his voice, placing a hand on her shoulder. He pulled as if burned, she was on fire! Her skin was so hot, to the point of being unbearable. He felt his arms, he was pretty warm thanks to his blank…et….wait. "You're about as warm as my dad was. If you were any warmer, last night wouldn't have gone as well…Not a kitty…" It clicked. He was…something about him being warm….triggered something bad for her. Wasting no more time, he ran over and opened the window, fortunately there was a breeze, and he ran out the door.

The breeze reached her and she eased a bit in her shaking. She registered the touch after the window had been opened, and her hands shifted to they weren't sealed to her ears. Where was she? She was on a battlefield. Wait, no. She was in a room…..In Gamzee's room?

When he had come back dripping wet, it brought a sigh of relief from him, seeing Nepeta uncurled and no longer mewing. He walked over and sat down in front of her, dropping a towel next to them. She recoiled when he sat down though. "No no Nepsis. It's all good now, I cooled down. Take a feel." he said, holding out a hand for her to feel.

Nepeta looked to his face, glad that she saw purple eyes before her. She looked down at his hand, reaching out to slowly touch it. He was close to ice cold with how warm she still was. "I'm…I'm safe." she asked, looking up at him, fear still present in her eyes.

Gamzee stilled for a moment, his hand curling around hers. Then he nodded, "It's all good now. I got you." he whispered, wrapping his arms around her to pull her against himself. He should be cold enough for her now.

Nepeta closed her eyes, pressing her face against his shoulder. It was cold and felt nice as it cooled her burning skin.

Gamzee didn't say anything, just held her and ran his fingers through her hair. It pained him, to see her like this and it drove him a bit nuts, not knowing what happened to where she acted like this. He wanted to protect her, keep her safe. But…How could he when….he wasn't all safe himself? Blood flashed on the walls, olive green joined the colors, the marks flashed on his hands. "IT ALL GOES BACK TO BLOOD" his own voice screamed in head. He whined softly and hid his face in her hair, slowly getting it damp with his still dripping locks.

Nepeta pulled back at his whine, frowning as she reached up to touch the face paint that looked like it was melting. "Gam…Gamzee, what's wrong?" she asked, a squeak still present in her voice.

He tensed and pulled her hand away from his face. "Sorry sis, but don't do that." You all better now?"

She flinched when he grabbed her wrist, but she had cooled off enough that Gamzee's face was still the only one she saw. "I think so…but now you're not." she said, moving her free hand to his hair. "You're soaked." she pulled her hand back to pick the towel he had brought in. Raising it, she started to dry his hair. "You'll get sick if your hair stays wet..."

It felt nice, Nepeta drying her hair. Felt like a little massage, he never had one before. His eyes drifted shut and his grip on her wrist long since dropped. He hunched forward so she had more access to his head. "Jumped in an ice-cold as shit bath. Thought there was something I forgot to do." he admitted, but hey he got affection out of forgetting.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, "This late at night?" she didn't understand.

"You were burning and didn't like my skin, which was warm. Thought a cold bath would cool me down and calm you down. You're not pulling away from me so guess it did." he explained.

"Pulling away from you?" she repeated, lowering the towel form his hair. "What do you mean?"

Gamzee shook his head like a woof beast to dry out his hair a bit more. "Yeah, after you woke up, tried to do the comfort but you took a leap for the floor." he explained. "Thought it had to do with body warmth."

"I jumped off…" she looked down. That would surely explain how she got on the floor. "I…thought you were someone else…I got scared of was who I thought it was."

Gamzee tilted his head, "Who did you think I was?" he asked, smoothing out her hair.

Surely she could answer that without going into the past. She swallowed hard and breathed in deeply, letting it out slowly. "The man…the man who culled my father."

Gamzee really didn't have a response to that, but he did feel that there was more to the story about this man, but he wasn't going to press for details now. He just pressed his lips to her forehead, "Sorry sis, for stirring the up the bad memories pot." he mutter against her skin.

Nepeta shook her head as faintly as she could manage. "It wasn't you." she said softly. "I had…a night mare about him. That's what it was…"

Gamzee frowned at that, he wished he could help in some way. At least be able to help her sleep better…oh idea. "Nepsis, wanna see something wicked in the garden?" he asked.

Nepeta gave him a curious, pulling back. "This late at night?" she asked. That seemed…odd, to say the least.

Gamzee stood up, shaking his head at her. "Won't work in the morn. Will only work now." he explained.

Watching him for a moment, Nepeta stood. "Alright. Show me." she said softly, setting the towel over his footrest. What could he possibly want to show her that would only work late at night?

Gamzee grinned, tugging on her hand and walking out. Nepeta was able to deter him fro hitting the pillars. Soon they found themselves in Jade's garden, in front of a peculiar plant. It looked like the plant from Mario, with the teeth and everything but the coloring was bright red and blue. Its mouth was slightly open and the teeth dripped a bright green liquid into the lower part of the mouth, where it was all collected. Gamzee reached in and swiped some into his finger and held it out for Nepeta. "This is Soper, in the raw form. Jade used it to mix in drinks so bros could sleep better. Wanna lick?"

Nepeta tensed at the coloring and when he held out the slime, she shook her head. "I've tried that stuff once, and it was gross. I don't want to do it again." she said.

"No no, the raw stuff tastes way different from my pies. One little lick?" he asked, holding his hand out a little further.

She was hesitant, to say the least, but she eventually stuck her tongue out and ran it along the slime. Blinking, she pulled back and gave the green substance a confused look. "Why…does it taste so different between this and your pies?" she asked. It was…actually…pleasant like this…

Gamzee chuckled, her changing expression was priceless, then he shrugged. "Think it has something to do with heat. The sleeping shit changing and exploding with the baking heat. It's way less "addicting" as Eribro puts it, in raw form." he tilted his head. "Nepsis like it raw?"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she couldn't help but nod. She looked up at him. "Addicting?" she asked. "You mean you're addicted to it?"

Gamzee held his hands up. "I ain't said that, that's what Eribro says." he had grabbed a bowl before they left and hand spooned some slime into the bowl. "Here, should fill your dreams with miracles." he said, handing the bowl to her. His fingers were covered in slime now, he took a lick and made a face. "Yuck."

Nepeta giggled at that. "That's how I feel about your slime pies." she teased, taking the bowl. She looked down at it curiously. Would this really take away her nightmares?

Gamzee stuck his fingers up to her face. "Wanna lick the slime off?" he attempted to flirt but failed miserably.

Her face turned a dark olive green and she took a small step back. "I…I'm good." she muttered, only slightly tripping over her words.

"Aw, okay." he jokingly frowned, wiping off the slime on the grass. "Should we go back now?" he asked her.

Nepeta nodded, keeping her gaze on the bowl of slime as she followed him back to his room. She sat on the edge of the bed, carefully taking some slime onto her finger, then placing her finger into her mouth.

While she was eating, Gamzee had walked over to his dresser and examined his face. The paint had dried and become smudged and messed up. It looked a lot like…mirror Gamzee…He dunked his face into the washing basin on the dresser, getting a little water everywhere.

Nepeta felt her eyes start to grow heavy and she set the bowl on the nightstand before she looked over at him. He was…taking his makeup off? As she blinked, her eyes stayed closed longer and longer before she flopped over onto her side, fast asleep…

Gamzee wiped his face clean of make up with a towel. When he lifted his face from the towel, he saw in the mirror that Nepeta was fast asleep, slime around her lips and on her fingers. He looked back at himself, placing a hand on his cheek. All the other marks disappeared under his skin, except that one, the Capricorn sign, became clearer and clearer each day. He quickly covered the mark and the rest of his face with white paint. It wouldn't be long until the mark showed through the paint, till it announced to everyone his birthright. He sighed and flopped into bed. He hesitated before pulling the sleeping troll into his arms, so he was spooning. Her even breathing and her warmth he envied, it clamed him down. "Am I safe?" her voice echoed in his mind. He buried his head in her neck, he could faintly pick up the sound of her heart, pumping blood all throughout her body. "Nepsis, you're not all safe from me." he whispered. "But I do promise, I will hurt or cull myself before your blood gets splattered on my walls."


	15. 15 Toys

Eridan winced as his head snapped to the side, then wide eyes fell onto Feferi in front of him. His cheek stung as her palm tinted. What color it was, he couldn't tell. "How could you let this happen to her?" she snapped. He looked over to where Nepeta laid, looking as if she took a bath in slime. But…she wasn't moving. Gamzee had let her…no, he had let her. He hadn't been able to stop Gamzee form giving it to her. Feferi's hand struck him again and he bolted up, awake and panting heavily.

Fef's eyes blinked open as the bed was temporary disturbed. She saw a blurry figure, panting really hard, as if they had just run a mile. "Eridan, is that you?" she mumbled, stretching and yawning.

Eridan covered his face with his hands. "I'm sorry Fef…I'm sorry." he whispered through a clenched jaw.

All lazy sleepiness drained from her, leaving her alert and very confused. She reached over to put on her glasses and sat up. "Hey it's okay, you didn't do any fin. Did some fin bad happen in your dream?" she asked, putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Nepeta…She…Gam got her to try his horrid slime…and she…"he swallowed hard, all but clawing his face. "She wasn't moving…"he panted.

…She wasn't sure if she heard that correctly. "Eridan, look at me. I can barely hear you." she moved her hands to his face, trying to get them off. "You'll scratch that nice face."

He let her pull his hands form his face, eyes wide. "Nepeta…She wasn't moving…Gam…He gave her this…green slime that's he's addicted to…and she…she stopped moving."

Fef bit her lower lip, her heart tightening up. Nepeta would not be so stupid as to try…whatever Gamzee would try to give her, she knew better. Yes, she knew better. Fef kissed his forehead and tilted down so they're noses brushed each other. "It's just a dream. Just a dream, it's okay." she shooshed, rubbing his upper arms,

Eridan shook his head, "She almost tried it shortly after you two came here." he said, shutting his eyes tightly. "I walked in right before she could. It was that green stuff on her cheek."

What if she or Eridan didn't stop her this time? She ran out of the room and entered her own. The bed was messy but there was no sight of puffy black hair among the pillows. "She's with Gamzee." she said, not knowing if Eridan followed her. She bolted for Gamzee's room, kicking it open and waking the duo on the bed.

Eridan had followed at her heels, but stopped in the doorway as Nepeta sat up. She was startled both by Feferi's sudden waking of them, and finding Gamzee so close to her. She rubbed her eyes, licking at the slime left on her lips. "Mmm…Purrincess, what is it?" she yawned.

Slime on her lips, on her fingers….oh that was the last straw. She stomped over and dragged Nepeta out of Gamzee's grip and behind her. When Gamzee felt the absence of warmth, she sat up, stretching. "Hey, why the grabbing? I was comf-" he got cut off when Feferi's met his face, hard. His head snapped to the side, the purple filling in through the white paint. "YOU!" She pointed at him. "ARE TO STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM NEPETA. IF I CATCH YOU ANYWHERE NEAR HER, I WILL DO MORE THAN SLAP YOU NEXT TIME." Gamzee just sat there dumbfounded, the weight of the situation having not yet kicked in.

Nepeta's eyes widen and tried to move past Feferi and to Gamzee again. "Purrincess! That was not necessary." she exclaimed. "Gamzee, are you alright?" she exclaimed over Feferi's shoulder. "Purrincess, he's done nothing wrong!"

Fef looked at her friend. She was concerned about this troll? "Out. Now." she ordered, pointing to the door. Very slowly, things clicked in Gamzee's head. Fef…was taking Nepeta away from him…He stood up real fast, a good foot taller than Feferi.

"You MotHerFucKinG suRe yOu wAnt To dO thAt?" he said with an even tone.

Nepeta tensed at Gamzee's tone, but far less than Eridan did. He bolted to the tree of them so he stood in between Gamzee and the girls. "Gam, calm down." he said as gently as he could. "Fef, leave. Now"

Gamzee stared Fef down and she did the same, Finally, Fef turned and grabbed Nepeta's wrist. "We need to talk." she said through a clenched jaw as she walked out in Nepeta in tow.

Gamzee sat back down on the bed, staring down at his hands. The hands that had just held the troll whom Fef was taking away from him.

Eridan looked around the room and when he found no baked slime pies, he picked the half eaten bowl and set it in Gamzee's open hands. "I don't think she's want you near Nepeta if you can't control yourself." he snapped. "I warned you about trying to get her on slime but you didn't listen." Eridan stopped as a voice followed his own.

"He's right." The female now standing in the doorway said. "You have to listen to be able to behave. If you don't behave, you might lose your toys, Gamzee." A darkly amused look entered the purple eyes and the corners of her mouth twisted up into a smile. "Or better yet, break them."

Gamzee started, then stood up, staring at the newcomer. "Mom." was all he said, all he could think to say right then.

Eridan straightened his posture and bowed his head. "Welcome home Grand Highblood." he said. She turned her smile to him.

"Would you leave us? I would like some alone time with my son." He didn't even hesitate, hurrying form the room. Once he was gone, she shut the door, looking to Gamzee. "I hear from Dualscar you have your toy and Eridan has his. From what I've heard from Eridan, you don't seem to have been playing nice with yours." She said, standing before him, a few inches taller than him. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his cheek. "Have you not learned?"

Gamzee recoiled, "Nepsis ain't a toy. She's a troll just like me." he stood his ground. "I gave her raw slime, almost harmless, to help her sleep. I was just trying to help her…" he trailed off

She frowned when he recoiled but gave almost a sick grin. "Just like you? So she's purple blooded?" she asked, "I heard from around the castle that she's olive." She stepped away from Gamzee to his dresser where she picked up a container of his face paint. "You haven't had one of those toys to play with yet."

"STOP CALLING HER A TOY!" He roared, knocking the container out of her hands. He was beginning to shake, another sign the slime was wearing off. "I don't give a fuck about her blood. All I care about is her."

She stared at him for a moment, then grabbed one of his wrists with her now free hand, grabbing a tight hold of his chin. Her eyes flashed with irritation and she bared her teeth at him for a long moment. The irritation ceased to a dull annoyance before she spoke. "They're all toys. Little Miss Olive who's under the spell of a prince wanting her. Mister Violet whom you've terrified and Miss Princess of the Condense…" she leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Who is slowly learning about who you really are, and is sure to tell Miss Olive Blood." She pulled back to watch his face.

The realization hit Gamzee hard, Feferi, she wouldn't! He was so careful to hide that side. Who he really was, he hated that side, he hated himself. Nepeta…sweet warm little Nepeta. She was never a toy to him, she was more than that. More than a friend…Nepeta, her sweet face locked in permanent fear. Her delectable blood among the other colors on his wall. It was just the color he needed…No….No… "NO!" He screamed, grabbing tufts of his hair and stumbled backwards. He tripped and collided with the bed pole, grabbing onto it and sliding down, his nails and eventual blood leaving marks on the wood. He was definitely shaking now, and having trouble breathing. He had to fight it, keep it done, that side of himself. "Nep... sis."

The Highblood watched him with a close to bored expression on her face. "You have your 'fix' on the bed." she said, making her way to the door. Stopping in the doorway, she looked over her should at him. "If Miss Princess let's her Olive around you again, I would love to meet her." she commented before leaving the shaking male.

Gamzee didn't notice she left until 10 minutes later. He was alone, again. Only the messiahs knew when he would by graced by Her presence again. Deserve to hold her against him again. He staggered around the bed and reached for the bowl, almost knocking it over. He shoveled the slime into his mouth, his gag reflex kicking in though. But he pushed through, until every last drop of the raw stuff was licked clean from the bowl. His body wasn't happy, he began to dry heave, struggling to keep the stuff down. He needed the oblivion the slime brought. But most of all, he needed Nepeta. He felt like a real troll around her, not the monster he was doomed to become. Nepsis, he remembered last night clearly, when he was spooning her, she unconsciously pressed back against him, allowing him to hear her heart more clearly. To hear that sigh of content leave her lips. Thoughts of her, kept him from going fully over the edges, kept his mind intact before oblivion crept in at last.


	16. 16 Even if you hate me

Nepeta dragged her feet the best she could, but her stocking only made it so she slid along the tile floor as she struggled. "Stop it, Fefurri! She yelled. It was incredibly rare that she used the other's name alone, even with how close they were to each other.

Feferi let go once they were in her room. "Nepeta, I can't let this go on any further. As your princess, I order you to stay away from that troll." she commanded.

Nepeta stared with wide eyes at her. "How…How can you do that? I've kept my purromise." she yelled. "You have no basis behind taking me away from him. It you're mad about me leaving our room last night and crawling into his bed, you're a hypurrrcrite! Five nights a week, you do the exact same thing with your scarfed purrince charming!" she snapped, actually raising her voice.

Fef sputtered for a bit, flushed Tyrian, before she talked again. "THAT'S NOT THE REASON." she yelled back. "The reason is the slime. The stuff is bad for you. It's like any addicting drug, you can OD from it. Do you want that to happen to you? I DON'T"

"Gamzee said that even Eridan knows when it's raw, it's not addicting. The gardener used t mix it with water to help people sleep." she narrowed her eyes, her hands balled into fists. "I dreamt about my father's death, and he was trying to help."

Fef's hands tightened to fists as well. "For the rest of this week, you are to be at my side. "she said in a low, commanding voice. "You are to stay in this bed at night, you are not to wander off. I'll decide when you are free to roam again. Am I clear?"

Nepeta gritted her teeth, a growl escaping her. That was a low card to play and Feferi knew it. "My father died because of your mother and I left my own so you wouldn't be alone here. But with who and what you are, I can't see why I was so worried." she said a little too calmly before she turned, taking a seat on the floor on the other side of the bed to spite the other female.

This tore her, from the moment she walked into Gamzee's room. Nepeta's words cut through her, leaving her bleeding and shaking. She never wanted to do this, dear god she hated using her power over Nep. But she was doing this for her sake, her safety. She could only hope Nepeta would realize this soon.

Eridan waited until sparks stopped flying for awhile, then knocked on the door. "Fef? Is she hurt?" he asked, knowing Nepeta could hear him. He knew the female wasn't his biggest fan and he didn't want her to think that he only cared about Fef…As true as that may have been.

Fef got up and opened the door, not looking Eridan in the eye. "She's fine. Psychically." she mumbled, her fins long since drooped.

Eridan nodded, reaching out and pulling her gently from her room, closing the door behind her. "I can't apologize enough h about Gam. I can assure you, the grand high blood is punishing him about it as we speak."

Fef swallowed, still looking everywhere but him. "That's his mom right?" she asked.

He nodded once. "She is also the queen of this kingdom, which gives her more authority over him." he explained.

"I-I sea." she trailed off…"That's good." she rubbed her upper arms, unsure of what to do or say.

Eridan watched her for a moment before, then pulled her against himself. "Just give her some time. She'll eventually understand." he said, smoothing his hand over her hair.. "If there's any fin I can do for you, any fin at all, just say the word."

Fef clung to him for awhile, before she pulled back. "I want to go swimming." she said softly. Maybe the ocean will help her feel better.

Eridan nodded." Then let's go." he said.

Later, they were all changed. Nepeta was still giving her the cold shoulder as she followed after the pair. Fef looked over at her, who was on some nearby rocks, then over at Eridan. "I'm just trying to keep her safe. She probably hates me now." she mumbled, looking down at her hands.

Eridan shook his head and took her hand, leading her out into the water. "She just needs some time to cool off. Give a couple days and I'm sure she'll be back to her normal self." he assured her, slowing a bit when they got knee deep.

Fef couldn't help but giggle. "At least you can walk into the water now without freezing up. I'm proud of you Eridan." she smiled, taking both of his hands and standing in front of him.

He smiled back, trying to ignore that fact that Nepeta turned so her back was to them. I don't freeze till we get out to waist deep now." he added.

This is how far they had managed to get in couple of weeks. She had been keeping an eye on Nep and heart dropped a bit. She shook her head a bit. "Shell we go a bit further toray?"

"If it will make you happy, Fef. We're here to make you feel better." he replied, continuing forward with her.

Fef walked backwards to till they were at his freezing point, waist deep. "I know, I don't want you to get uncomfortable."

"My uncomfort is a small price to pay to make sure you're feeling better. "It also got him out of the castle where he was sure his father roamed. It was rare that The Grand Highblood returned without him.

Fef looked down, a blush on her cheeks. "That's reely sweet of you, Eri." she murmured, taking a couple steps back so the water was slightly higher.

He swallowed hard, but followed her lead. "It's…not really…" he said as his grip tightened on her hands.

She squeezed his hands back, the water now near the middle of their torsos. Talking seemed to help him not focus on the water. "Eridan…do you hate me for what I did?" she asked.

He frowned at that, looking up from the water. "For what you did?" he asked.

Fef swallowed, "I have Nepeta following me now, until I say she can wander freely again…" she replied, not looking him in the eye. "I'm doing it for her safety."

He pulled one hand from hers and placed it on her cheek. "Why in the world would I hate you for doing what you feel is right?" he asked in turn.

She unconsciously leaned into the touch. "Because…if she's with me, she's not with Gamzee…"she trailed off.

Eridan paused as he remembers what he had said. "As long as The Grand Highblood is here, he will be alright. She will keep him safe and sane." He assured her. "When she leaves, I'll find something else."


	17. 17 Grumpy-Gills

The rust-blooded nurse pulled the thermometer out of Nepeta's mouth to inspect it. "101.2 A definite fever." She had turned a blind eye earlier when Nepeta had stuck the thermometer into the tea cup on the nightstand. The nurse placed a tongue depressor on the coughing troll's tongue. "L00ks irritated back there, a sign of a s0re thr0at." she said, though her throat was just fine. She stood up and looked over at the concerned princess. "She caught a bug alright. I w0uld advise she stays in bed and drinks plenty 0f fluids and she'll be fine." the nurse explained. Fef's fins drooped as she thanked the nurse.

Nepeta still refused to speak to Feferi, and went as far to sleep on the floor every night of the week. Sine they had had their fight, however she had moved to the bed when the nurse came in and was more than grateful that the female was helping her. As Feferi was thanked the nurse, she rolled onto her side, picking up the now dry purple rose that Gamzee had given her, with a sigh. How was he? She hadn't so much as seen hide nor tail of the tall troll and it was starting to get to her.

As the rust blooded troll exited, Feferi shut the door and sighed. "I reely wish you could come with us. I was hoping to get some of your dresses replaced." she said as she dressed for the day. Feferi and Eridan were going down to the village to get away from the kingdom and to do some shopping. "I could get some of those Strawberry candies you like, how does that sound?"

Nepeta remained silent, rolling onto her other side so she didn't face her princess. A few of the rose petals cracked when they ran along the sheet, and Nepeta curled a little under the blanket.

Fef covered upsentness with a sigh, then a forced smile. "I'm shore they'll feel nice on your throat." with the pulling on her gloves and patting down her hat, she went for the door. "I'll be back by sundown." she looked one more time at Nepeta before exiting out.

Eridan made his way to his own door, fixing his scarf before he opened it, smiling when he saw Feferi leaving her own room. It had been hard to get used to her not creeping into his room the past week, but he understood. "Nep isn't coming with us?" he asked, surprised not to find the mute female not by Fef's side.

Fef shook her head. "She was coughing her fins off all night so I called a nurse down." she began to explain. "Nep has a sore throat so the nurse advised her to stay in bed. I wish she could have come though." she admitted.

Eridan nodded. "It's best for her to rest then." He said, not sure what else to say as he took her hand, leading her from the castle. "Is there a reason you want to go to the market today?" he asked.

Feferi shrugged. "It's been a long tine since I was down there last. I wanted to see what all has changed and I was hoping to replace some of Nepeta's dresses, but that will have to wait until next time." She explained placing her free hand on his upper arm. "Is it weird that I miss sneaking into your bed?" She asked. He offered her a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Only as wweird as I miss you doing it." he replied. The market… He hadn't been down there in sweeps. Not since Karkat had been taken away. The troll was the one who always insisted on going, even when Eridan tried to refuse. Feferi giggled.

"Well, I'm sinking if she stays in her bed, I'll let her roam again. And you and I~" She said in a teasing tone, playing with one of the buttons on his cloak. Eridan felt his cheeks darken and he let out a nervous laugh of his own.

"So you do plan n letting her be by herself once again?" He asked. He hadn't dared to check on Gamzee, pretty well terrified of what he would find in the male's room. Feferi nodded.

"I'll keep a loose eye on her for a bit, but if she behaves then things will be okay." By now they had reached the carriage. "You ready?" She asked.

"As ready as I'll evver be." He replied, allowing her to enter the carriage with his help before he entered it himself. The windows were blacked out and they were the only two in the carriage, giving them some privacy. Once the carriage was in motion, Feferi looked over at Eridan, tugging on his scarf a bit.

"It's just me." She said, dancing around her request.

"I don't see ww-wwhy you insist on making me take it off." He said, his voice showing his discomfort as much as he tried to hide it. "I'm not going to sleep." He added, as that had been her reasoning before. Her fins drooped pretty low.

"Because you don't need to hide it from me anymore." She murmured, scooting to the other side of the carriage. "I'm sorry." She looked out the window, her legs curling up under her on the seat. Eridan sighed, closing his eyes.

"I'm not hiding it from you." He said. "I just… still don't like not having it on."

"Sorry…" Was all she mumbled, still looking out the window. She just... wished he could be comfortable not wearing it around her, but she was already asking too much from him, she was sure.

"And noww I'vve upset you again." Eridan pointed our, shaking his head. As much as he hated doing so, he unwound the scarf from his neck. Once done, he placed the scarf in his lap. Feferi looked back at him, noticing his clenched jaw and exposed neck.

"You didn't have to take it off…"

"You wwere upset because I didn't. So yes, I did." He replied, gripping his scarf tightly in his hands.

"I'm not upset." She simply replied. She was just disappointed, but now he was irritated. "Just put it back on, we'll be there soon."

"This isn't going wwell." He said, more so to himself than her as he wrapped the scarf around his neck again. Feferi sighed, curling more up on the seat.

"Not reely."

"I'm sorry… my father's been home. I'm on edge." He admitted softly, keeping his gaze away from her. It was an excuse, but it was true. The carriage had arrived by then. Feferi got up and walked out, getting help from the rider. Once Eridan was down, she offered her hand to him.

"Let's have fun toray. Not thoughts aboat your dad. Please?"

Eridan wasn't sure if hat was the best way to go about it, but he nodded nonetheless and took her hand. "Wwhatevver you wwould like, Fef." He relied, allowing her to lead the way. Feferi moved her hands so their arms were interlocking and both of her hands were on his upper arm, her head resting on his shoulder. The village market was in full swing. Every stall was open, low and mid bloods bartering and shopping. There was a buzz today, and a mix of everything.

"It's far… busier than I remember." Eridan said, bringing his arm and her closer to himself as he looked around.

"_YOU ACT AS IF YOURE GOING TO CATCH SOMETHING FROM GETTING TOO CLOSE TO THEM!" The shorter male snapped as he dragged Eridan through the market._

Feferi looked around at the stalls, seeing where she wanted to shop first. She tugged a bit on his scarf. "We could look for a new scarf for you, spice up your shield choices." She giggled. He gave her a playful frown.

"It's not a shield." He stated. "More like… a bandage." He added, looking around. "I wwonder if the vvender wwho sold me my first one is still here…"

"Maybe. Will you know when you sea them?" She asked, looking from stall to stall. There were so many goodies for sale today, maybe she would find a new friend for her collection. Eridan nodded.

"I wwould remember." He said softly, looking around as well. He wasn't exactly sure if them still being in the market was a good thing or not though. Feferi nodded, something catching her eye. It was a shabby stall, but the items on the bench…

"-Eridan, look!" She squealed, running over to the stall, bouncing on her heels. It had an array of stuffed animals, shabby like the stall was. A button eye was missing here, stuffing coming out there. Eridan followed her, giving the stuffed animals a confused look.

"They… look like they could use some wwork." He said softly. Feferi couldn't help but shake her head, giggling.

"I sink they're adorabubble. Espeshelly this one." She picked up a pufferfish. There was dust caked onto it's button eyes and a seam had burst open near the mouth. It was old, had seen a lot, and Feferi thought it was perfect. "He's a lot like you~" She said. Eridan puffed his cheeks out a little, not seeing the resemblance.

"My stuffing isn't bursting from my stitching." He countered. But even the yellow blood seller could see the resemblance.

"Puffs hiss cheeks upp just likee aa puffer." She commented. Feferi squeezed the plushie to her chest, smiling at the old troll. "I'll take him~" Eridan reached into his pocket, paying a little more than needed before he ushered her along. About five minutes later he stopped, his eyes widening as he stared at one of the vendors. They really were still there…

Feferi had been waling a head and stopped once she realized that Eridan wasn't following. She walked back over to where he had stopped. "Water you doing? Somefin caught your eye?" She followed his gaze to the sall that had colorful and high quality scarves laid out in front of the teal blooded venfor. "Ohh! So pretty!" she cooed, pulling Eridan to the stall. "-" Eridan allowed her to pull him toward the vendor, his mind far from focused on the current situation.

"_HERE!" The nubby troll yelled, throwing a scarf at the purple-maroon blood. Eridan gave him a confused look, then looked down at the scarf. "WELL? AREN'T YOU GOING TO PUT IT ON?" Eridan frowned at him._

"_Must you alwways yell?" he asked, though instantly regreated doing so as it sent Karkat into an angry fir that ended with-_

"_PUT THE DAMN SCARF ON SO I DON'T HAVE TO SEE THOSE CREEPY GILLS OF YOURS! NOT LIKE THEY DO YOU ANY GOOD!"_

Blinking, Eridan looked to Feferi as she was staring at him. "I'm sorry Fef. Wwhat did you say?" he asked. Feferi had been waving her hand in front of his face till he snapped out of his daze.

"I said whatever you want, I'll pay this time." she repeated, tilting her head to one side.

"You don't havve to do that, Fef." Eridan said as his gaze moved to the scarves. The gray and candy-red one caught his eye and he stepped over to it. His hand brushed over the scarf as if he was scared he would break it. Feferi walked up next to him. It was odd, the color combination reminded her a lot of a certain nubby troll back at her mother's kingdom.

"It's pretty." She commented. "Wanna try it on?" She asked, reaching for the scarf. Eridan started to nod, but pulled his hand back to hover over his own scarf, just over where the scar was.

"I'm sure it'll fit. I don't need to try it on." He replied. Feferi nodded, understanding immediately.

"We'll take it~" she said, passing over the coins and a little extra. The vender smiled and bowed.

"A pleasure to be of service to the Princess." Feferi giggled, tucking the scarf into her cuddlefish purse.

"GET YOUR FACE OUT OF MY SIGHT!" A voice pierced through the babble. Feferi turned and saw a little ways away, a green blood had a rust blood by her collar, shaking her. The green blood was one of the food venders.

"Please! I've been denied service two other times! My son needs to eat!" the rust blood pleaded, near tears. The green pulled the rust close to her face.

"You and your son's filthy excuse of blood are better off dead!" She sneered, pushing the rust blood back. She ended up colliding with a teal who pushed her to the ground, and the rust took a yellow with her.

"I just washed these cloths!" The teal snapped, spitting on the two lowbloods. Some spit got on a dark blue's shoe, who shoved the teal onto the ground.

"Watch where you spit!" The chaos continued from there.

Eridan looked over at the commotion, grabbing Feferi's wrist. "Fef, wwe should leavve." He said, his tone holding the same amount of panic as his eyes. He tugged on her arm, trying to pull her away. Feferi tugged her arm back.

"-Eridan, we can't leave it like this! Somebody will get krilled!" She yelled, placing the pufferfish on the stand long with her purse. She lifted her skirts and ran into the crowd, intent on getting the mother rust out.

"Fef!" He moved after her, but was pushed back by one of the others, causing her to fall from his reach. "Princess, don't do this! You're going to get hurt!" He yelled, trying to push through the crowd.

She was pushed and shoved all over th place, her skirts tearing when someone stepped on them, and eventually she was pushed into the lowblood punch pile. There she spotted the rust mother, not putting up the slightest fight. Feferi fled to her side and covered the female with her own body, shielding her from assult. Everyone turned their attention to the fancy new guest, kicking and hitting her; a foot connected with her nose at one point, and blood began to spew, and she started to cough on the Tyrian that escaped her and onto the rust. The pain soon became too much when her side was kicked, and the last thing she remembered was the crowd growing silent and someone screaming her name.

Eridan pushed the others out of the way easier when they became silent, as they had stopped fighting as well. He picked Feferi up bridal style and started to turn to leave, but looked down to see the rust blood. He hesitated, then shifted Feferi to one arm, offering his hand to the rust blood.

The rust blood looked from his face to his outstretched hand, but accepted it in the end. "Th-thank you, your highness." She stuttered, not making any eye contact with him. A soft whimper of pain escaped the princess. She was brushed everywhere, and bloody. Her nose, her dress, there was close to no part of her that was clean. Eridan turned his gaze to Feferi, looking her over before he held her closer to himself.

"I'm not the one that deserves the thanks." He said. He then looked to the green blood who had started the whole mess. "As your prince, I order you to serve all as if they are higher than you." Surely that would make Feferi happy, right? The green blood bowed deeply.

"Yes sir." She said curtly before moving to pack up her things. The driver for Feferi and Eridan ran up.

"I hear what happened." He panted. "The carriage is ready. Shall we leave?"

"Wait!" the teal scarf vender called out, running over and handing some objects to the driver. A puffer fish, cuddlefish purse and eridan's new scarf. "Don't forget these." Eridan looked to the teal vendor, stopping in his start to follow after the driver. He gave a small bow of his head, partially to hide the water that laced his eyes now before he made his way quickly to the carriage.

Once inside, he held Feferi close to himself, keeping her in his lap. Her breathing was ragged, her whimpers growing louder and louder. The pain was overwhelming, and she just wanted it to stop. She rasped around, trying to find something to cling to in the blindingly painful darkness, and it just to happened to be Eridan's shirt. "Pl-please…"

"Just hold on a little wwhile longer." He whispered.


	18. 18 The ribbon

The nurse had also told Nepeta when Fef was not in earshot, that Gamzee had only left his room once in the past week, aside to tend to bathroom needs, to make pies. He looks awful though, no sleep, eats less than usual. Nepeta hurried form the room once she was dressed. peaking around the corners for any sign of Feferi and Eridan, in case they decided to hang around. She turned around a corner, but heard something behind her and spun to face an empty hallway. She stepped back, keeping her gaze forward until she walked into someone and froze. Eyes wide she hesitated, turning around to look up at the female figure. She had to be at least as tall as Gamzee and…her horns were the same. The female smiled presently down at her.

"You must be the Olive Blood I've heard about." she said as she place a hand on Nepeta's cheek. Nepeta swallowed hard, unaware for a moment that they were in front of Gamzee's open door. The Grand Highblood had been leaving her check on him.

If 'checking on' was even the right term for it. All she did was remind him constantly of and how her irritation of his behavior. Gamzee could faintly hear his mother talking to someone, but he didn't care enough to listen hard.

"He's waiting for you." The highblood said before she lowered her hand from Nepeta's face, stepping past Nepeta without another word. When Nepeta could feel and move her legs again she looked to the open door, swallowing hard as she saw Gamzee surrounded by empty tins. She padded her way carefully into his room, crawling onto the bed, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"G… Gamzee…?"

He recoiled, man did he recoil. The slime mixed with lack of sleep and food brewed together terrible hallucinations. How many times had he 'heard' her voice, 'felt' her touch? The blood on his walls didn't go away anymore and he kept seeing the marks on his skin. He even tried scratching them out of his skin with no avail. He moved from the bed and retreated to the corner of his room. He curled up, rocking back and forth.

"Make it stop. Make them go away." He begged over and over.

Nepeta almost wished that Feferi was here to see this. To see what had become of Gamzee. She swallowed harder than before, following him before she took him loosely by his wrists, trying to pull him to his feet.

"Gamzee, come with me. I'll help make it stop. Just come with me." She pleaded. She had no clue as to what it was that he wanted to make go away, but the purple claw marks on his skin forced her not to care.

Gamzee didn't understand. The other Nepeta's were able to see the marks. This one was different. He let himself be pulled onto his feet, trying to focus on the figure in front of him. "They… They're right there. Clear. See?" He wasn't crazy. He wasn't! But… all that Nepeta saw was what he had done to himself. She offered a nod.

"Okay Gamzee. Come with me and I'll help you." She said, tugging him toward the door. He was breathing heavily, but he allowed her to lead him out of his haven and his prison.

"Wh-where?" Was all he was able to get out, blinking against the bright lights as he stumbled all over the place.

"We're going to get you something to eat. Then we'll go for a walk." She said, leading him as carefully as she could. Once in the kitchen, she helped him sit beside Sis's fort. She was glad to see that the cooks had been talking care of the small beast in Gamzee's absence. She looked around the kitchen, soon returning with a loaf of bread, sitting in front of him. She tore off a piece, pressing it to his lips. "Open?"

Gamzee tensed up. The last time he tried to eat, it just came back up harder than it had gone down. His throat wasn't used to solids passing through. He hunched over and got caught in a coughing fit once the food was finally swallowed. Nepeta flinched, dropping the bread before she grabbed a hold of his shoulders, trying to hold him still. Bread was a bad idea apparently. She ran her hand over the back of his head, tears stinging her eyes. Pulling back she stood, hurrying to one of the coolers, opening it to find water and milk, filling a cup with each before she returned to Gamzee's side. The water seemed like a better idea first, so she held it out to him.

The coughs subsided, but when the water was offered to him he turned his head away, not wanting anything else in his mouth. Nepeta lowered the cup, watching him for a moment. She wasn't sure if she was willing to take desperate measures. But… she didn't know how else to get anything in him. She reached out, forcing him to look at her. Raising the cup to her lips she poured some of the water into her mouth before she pressed her lips to Gamzee's, forcing the liquid into his mouth.

Gamzee's eyes widened immensely, his heart starting to race like hell. He was sure this was no illusion this time; her lips felt too warm, and plump. He didn't even notice the liquid enter his mouth, he just swallowed on instinct and closed his eyes. Once he did she pulled back, swallowing what little liquid was left in her mouth. She then held the glass out to him again. He took it this time, sipping the water then licking his lips.

"This… is real?" he asked in a hoarse voice. Nepeta nodded, ushering him to drink more.

"Yes Gamzee. This is real." She said softly. Gamzee mechanically downed the rest of the water. He set the cup down and looked to her. She hadn't been getting much sleep from the looks of it, and she looked worried. About him? Could this really be real? But… Feferi took her away from him. He reached out to touch her cheek, cupping it in his hand. It was soft, warm. While the other Nepeta's were cold. Nepeta closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, breathing a sigh of relief that he had finished the water. Opening her eyes, she took the cup, handing him the one with milk in it.

"You have to get your strength back… or else you won't see me anymore." He looked severely malnutrition, and she didn't know how much longer he would last like this.

He… Wouldn't be able to see her anymore? Gamzee's eyes widened as his thinkpan told him the only thing to do was get healthy again. He downed the cup of milk and snatched the bread, ripping off huge chunks, trying to force them down his throat. The only thing he managed to do was send himself into another couching fit. Nepeta flinched and grabbed his wrists to stop him from shoveling food down his throat.

"G-Gamzee! You'll do more damage if you keep that up!" She exclaimed, moving one hand to his cheek. "Take it easy… okay?"

_TAKE IT EASY WITH THAT SLIME SHIT OKAY?"_ a voice echoed in his head. He felt a big tug on his heart. Karbro… did the same thing, and Gamzee could almost hear him shooshing. He was a heater, Nepeta was a bit cooler though- not that he was complaining. She was there, and that was all that mattered.

"So-sorry sis." He choked out, his hand moving to cover hers, leaning into her soft touch. "Nerves be on the fray fence." He closed his eyes, a sigh escaping. "Just… things been tough. Missed you like motherfucking hell." He said, a couple small coughs following. She tilted her head forward, pressing her forehead to Gamzee's as she closed her eyes as well.

"I've missed you too. Missed seeing sis, working on the garden…" She decided to stop there. "The purrincess can't keep me away from you furever though. Sooner or later, she'll realized what it's done to you." Surely if Feferi saw, she would do something right? She wasn't heartless…

"Maybe. I don't gots no grudgings for her." He couldn't deny it took its toll on him tough. He pulled her into his lap, his arms wrapping tight around her and he rubbed her nose with his. The last week felt like a nightmare now, now that she was in his arms again. He felt higher than any slime had taken him before. Nothing could touch them.

She was a little surprised that he had pulled her into his lap though. The week without his advances and literally the only touch since Feferi had dragged her from Gamzee was when the rust blooded nurse had been giving her a check up. She closed her eyes, shifting so she was as close to him as she could be, welcoming the cold of his skin. He was warmer now, and she was sure it was from lack of eating and sleeping. He was even warmer than her father had been.

Gamzee wasn't paying too much attention to anything really. His hands moved n their own accord, up and down her back. He tilted his head a bit when he heard something like a soft rumble. And it was coming from the troll nestled against him, judging from how she was vibrating in a way.

"Is Nepsis… getting her purr on? Pretty cute." He murmured, scratching behind her ear. Nepeta's eyes flashed open at the question and her face flushed.

"I… I can't help it. I missed you." She sad softly, looking away from him. He seemed to be feeling a little better now at least. Gamzee leaned down to nuzzle her neck.

"Hey, it's cute. I all done like it." He said against her skin. "Didn't know if I'd ever see you again. Had that happen before." He trailed off, pressing his face more into her neck, the memories starting to come back as the slime started to wear off. Nepeta felt a shiver when he nuzzled her neck and she closed her eyes, doing her best to relax.

"I don't plan on leaving." She said softly. He didn't say anything, just tightened his grip on her. His breathing was a bit ragged from coughing and he was sure she could feel a couple of his ribs. They stayed like that for a while until he pulled back.

"Nepsis, wanna let Sis roam the garden?" He asked. Nepeta nodded, almost scrambling out of his lap and to his feet.

"That… sounds like a good idea." She replied. Gamzee whistled weakly and sis perked her ears up, having been sleeping the entire time. She got up and padded over to Nepeta. Gamzee got up last, a bit wobbly on his feet and dizzy as well, grabbing onto the counter for support. Nepeta moved to Gamzee's side, a hand on his back to signal she would do her best to help support him. She looked at sis, trying to smile. She still wasn't sure what to do with it.

"Don't be so worried. She'll follow." He said, leaning against Nepeta slightly. Sis got up and picked up a rag doll that a yellow blooded maid had made for her. She led the pair into the garden. Nepeta nodded, helping Gamzee as they followed sis out to the garden and she sat him back down in front of the strawberries. She turned to the bushes, picking a few berries before she held one about half an inch from his lips.

"Here. Let's try something easier to eat." Gamzee nodded, opening his mouth a bit and leaned forward to take the strawberry. It was fresh and ripe, tasting much better to him than the bread.

"_Hey look bro, I got your blood on my hands." He said, holding the stained hands to Karkat's face. The shorter male pushed them away from his face with a growl._

"_YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY? THAT'S INSULTING!" He snapped. Gamzee just sat there as his friend went off on yet another tangent._

Once Gamzee swallowed, Nepeta offered him another. "Do you feel any better now?" She asked, watching sis pad between the two of them and onto Gamzee's lap as if trying to be a wall between them. Gamzee accepted another strawberry and scratched behind sis's ears. He picked up the abandoned doll and threw it. Sis immediately leaped off his lap and sprinted after the doll. Gamzee then took one of the strawberries from Nepeta's hand and pressed it to her lips.

"The messiahs guess Fefsis had you on Fefsis arrest?" Nepeta's cheeks tinted and she took the strawberry as gently as she could, nodding as she chewed.

"I haven't been allowed out of her night, I had to fake being sick today so I wouldn't have to go to the market with her and I could check on you." Gamzee was a bit shocked by that. No one aside from Eridan took the time to check on him anymore.

"You were that worried about me?" he asked. Nepeta looked down at her lap and nodded again.

"Yes." She replied sheepishly, rolling one of the strawberries around on her palm. "Especially when the nurse told me… you weren't eating… or sleeping…" Gamzee plucked the strawberry out of her hand and set them aside, pulling her onto his lap again, taking a hold of her hands in his own. He only had eyes for their hands as he breathed a few times, a cough escaping here and there.

"Ask Eribro, I did the same thing when… when my moirail left…"

She looked up at him, watching his face. "Your moirail?" She repeated. "What… what did you do?" She asked. The last thing she wanted to do was talk with Eridan. He could over rule Feferi if he wanted to, and she would be allowed to see Gamzee again… but… he wouldn't.

"Didn't eat, didn't sleep. Ran the soper plants dry so no pies for weeks. Don't 'member much of that time." He shook his head. "But I won't never forget Karbro… His dad was an advisor for our parents." He raised a hand to stroke her cheek. "He was a lil heater, always had a fever. Way warmer than Nepsis." His hand moved to her meowbeast-like horns. "His horns were small and round, and he purred when you scratched them." He scratched hers a bit, just to see her reaction.

Karbro? Round, small- Her thoughts cut off there due to the sparks that shot down her spine. She had the intention to pull away, but found ability to do so unavailable. Her cheeks flushed and her back arched, trying to get closer to the touch. Her body naturally silenced any sound from escaping her.

Gamzee swallowed pretty hard, and he would be lying if he didn't admit that… he liked that reaction, a bit too much. He closed his eyes and pulled his hand from her horns, letting it rest on her knee. This wasn't the time or the place, even in this state he knew.

"He got sick a lot, so Eribro or me would take care of him. He was always cranky, it done fun to watch." He let out a raspy laugh that soon turned into a frown. "But… he was different… His blood were not on the spectrum. His dad and him had blood mutates in their veins. Dualscar found out." His hands tightened up as a lump formed in his throat. "And he be dead now." He hung his head, a sharp breath escaping him, his uncombed hair covering his eyes.

Since he paused before he spoke, she only missed the first couple of words as she calmed down. She looked up at him, slowly easing her breathing back to normal. Always sick… mutant blood… that sounded like her Karkitty. Well, other than the dead comment. She reached up, placing her hands on his face, frowning softly. What did you say to something like that? Leaning forward she decided to kiss his forehead through his mess of hair. He felt the kiss as if it had gone straight to his heart, warming it as it beat a little faster. He kept his head low, his arms encircling her waist with a loose grip.

"He… he was my best friend… ever since I hatched, my fuse was short. Nightmares liked me. Only Jade and Karbro could calm me down. Jade with her wicked elixir that no one could make done good as her… And Karbro shooshpapped me. Mom was always away, and Eribro never really wanted to be around me." He sighed shakily, a hand moving to cover one of hers. "I like warmth, feel safe. When people leave… feel colder than before." He still saw the marks on his torso and arms, along with dried blood and dried soper. When he pulled out the horn from his pocket, something else fell out; the red ribbon he had lent to Nepeta when she pierced herself with the thorns. His blood was on it too now, from scratching himself. In a couple of spots, the two colors collided, creating a whole new color.

Nepeta looked at the ribbon, eyes wide. She reached down with the hand not on his face and picked it up as if it was made of glass. "You… you kept it?" She asked, looking from the ribbon to the male. Gamzee looked at her, nodding.

"It's a bit messy now… but you left it in my room that morning. Was all I had of you." he said, gently taking the ribbon from her. "But, you here now. And sides, want you to have it." He set down the horn and reached out to tie the ribbon around her neck. Well, he tried. His hands were shaking badly. The bow he tied was sloppy, but Nepeta couldn't have cared less. She moved her hands to his, holding onto them tightly in an attempt to stop their shaking. She closed her eyes, pressing his fingers to her lips. She swallowed hard and shifted forward, craning her head up.


	19. 19 Medicine

"It's a bit messy now… but you left it in my room that morning. Was all I had of you." he said, gently taking the ribbon from her. "But, you here now. And sides, want you to have it." He set down the horn and reached out to tie the ribbon around her neck. Well, he tried. His hands were shaking badly. The bow he tied was sloppy, but Nepeta couldn't have cared less. She moved her hands to his, holding onto them tightly in an attempt to stop their shaking. She closed her eyes, pressing his fingers to her lips. She swallowed hard and shifted forward, craning her head up.

About three inches from his lips she stopped, Sis barking up a storm. She looked back behind her, tensing when she saw Eridan carrying Feferi toward the castle. They… they weren't supposed to be back yet.

She… She was going to kiss him? Gamzee's heart was ready to pounce out of his chest. He was close to hyperventilating, his eyes slid closed and… nothing happened. He felt her hands tense up in his and he opened his eyes. She was looking toward the kingdom doors. "Nep-" he cleared his throat, finding his voice too husky. "Nepsis?"

Nepeta looked to him when he spoke, then realized what she had been about to do. Her hands jerked back from his, but that was the only movement of recoil she made. "I-… I'm sorry." She stammered, eyes wide, Eridan hadn't seen them… and he had seemed worried. Had something happened to Feferi?

So… she hadn't meant to kiss him? It felt like a slap in the face when she recoiled, even if it was only a small recoil. He tried not to let it show but… oww. "It's all… good?" His expression made her tense and she moved her hands to cover her mouth, dropping her gaze. That… that came out wrong. Or was taken wrong. She didn't know or care as to which it was.

"Gam… Gamzee, I… I didn't mean…" she couldn't think of what to say. Gamzee turned his head so his hair covered his eyes again. He was stupid, so stupid, to think that… he even had… He swallowed hard.

"Maybe Fefsis needs checking…" Nepeta reached up to place a hand on his cheek, stopping half way before she forced herself to close the distance and touch his cold cheek.

"I didn't mean to upset you Gamzee. I… I got scared." She admitted before she stood. "I thought Feferi was coming into the garden. He didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say really, so he kept silent. Sis was settled on the grass a little ways away from the pair, watching them.

When he didn't say anything, her hand slowly dropped from his face. A sadness he wouldn't see entered her eyes before she looked away from him. "I'll… come and see you as soon as I can." She said softly, but couldn't find herself able to move from where she stood in front of the male.

But when would that be? Would she actually come back to him when she had a chance? He brought a hand up to his neck, tapping on it.

"Promise?" He whispered. Nepeta gave his action a confused look. Why was he… she reached up, tapping her own neck, her eyes widening slightly when she felt the ribbon. She reached out, taking his hand, pulling it up to touch the ribbon. Her eyes slid closed as she took a deep breath.

"I purromise, Gamzee." His thumb ran long the ribbon, his eyes closing as well. He could feel her pulse, running much faster than his own, right under his fingers. He took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it, right over where he felt a pulse. Nepeta regretfully pulled back and hurried from the garden.

The rust blooded nurse heard Eridan calling frantically once he entered the castle, and she ushered the pair into her office. She ordered Eridan to set the whimpering princess on one of the beds and other nurses rushed in and collected supplies as the rust blood set to work, pressing her fingers to Feferi's ribs. The troll cried out when the rust barely touched one of the lower ones.

"A definite cracked rib…" Two other cried followed, each louder than the first. Eridan cringed at the screams, his hands curling into fists tight enough for yellow nails to almost pierce his palms.

"You can fix her, can't you?" He asked, the prince's voice actually cracking. The rust staid calm, just raised an eyebrow at him.

"D0 y0u d0ubt my abilities?" She asked him. "Fr0m the l00k 0f things, there's n0 maj0r br0ken b0nes. But she has three cracked ribs, deep bruising in her st0mach and back 0f her thighs, am0ng 0ther bruising that will be tender in the m0rning. I need s0me painkillers stat!" She ordered. After all the poking and prodding had been done, Feferi was near tears. It hurt to move anything, except flexing her fingers. She opened her eyes to see Eridan, hunched over on himself, his fingers dug deep into his palms.

"-E-Eri…" Was all she could get out.

When he heard her voice, he turned his attention from the rust blood to her and moved to her side. "I wwish you hadn't done that Fef." He said, scared to even take her hand.

Feferi closed her eyes again. "I had to. They could have krilled her. Somefin had to be done." She panted, tuning her head to cough, some blood landing on the pillow. "The mom… was she okay?" She needed to know that this was worth it. Eridan nodded.

"I… I ordered the green blood to treat her like royalty." He said, wincing at the blood that didn't seem to stop escaping her.

Feferi nodded slightly. "That's good." The rust blood came back with a glass of green liquid and held it to Feferi's lips.

"This is g0ing t0 kn0ck y0u 0ut f0r a bit while I fix y0u up. Try and keep it d0wn." The nurse explained. Feferi complied, swallowing the liquid. It looked… familiar. She could have sworn she had seen that color before… Before she nodded off, she turned her hand to face up on the bed, looking to Eridan.

"Sssssstay…" She slurred. Eridan nodded, taking her hand as he sat beside her once again. "I'm not going anywwehere." He assured her with a forced smile. He knew she wasn't going to be happy when he told her what the nurse gave her, but who knew? Maybe it would make her allow Nepeta to be around Gamzee again.

Feferi weakly squeezed his hand before the mixture kicked in, knocking her out completely. That was when the nurses went to work. The rust blood dismissed Eridan for a few minutes so she could remove the bloody dress and get her into a simple slip. Once that was done she set to work, cleaning off the blood and disinfecting any wounds she had. Feferi didn't so much as stir, only twitching when the nurse cracked her nose back into a straight line.

Eridan on the other hand, had turned a pale gray, and seemed to lose color in his face the less he saw of the Tyrian color. "She'll be better soon, right?" He asked. "Wwhen she wwakes, I havve a feeling she'll wwant to see howw Nepeta is." He added. Would the cat-like troll have been able to stop her? Would she talk to Feferi today since she was hurt?

The nurse nodded. "Underst00d, y0ur highness. I'll send s0me0ne t0 retrieve her fr0m her r00m." She ushered for a yellow blood to come forward and told her low enough that Eridan wouldn't hear. "Check the garden f0r princess Feferi's lady in waiting." The orderly nodded, and made her way out. "D0n't w0rry, she'll rec0ver nicely as l0ng as she rests. She'll stay here f0r the next c0uple of days and the head nurse will l00k after her."

Nepeta was only a couple steps out of the garden when the orderly found her, explaining what the rust blood was doing. Nodding Nepeta followed the orderly quickly, though slowed her steps when they got to the infirmary, keeping her gaze low.

Feferi was still out cold from the slime, Eridan at her side and the nurse was at her desk, writing a few things on some papers. She had drawn a curtain around the pair to block out some of the noise and give them some privacy. She looked up, noticing Nepeta arriving and motioned for the female to come closer. "Did y0u hear what happened?"

Nepeta gave a small nod, keeping her gaze from the hidden bed. "I was told on my way here." She said, wrapping one arm around her waist, the other moving to brush her fingers against the stained ribbon. She had to admit it, she was still mad at Feferi, and wasn't sure if her getting hurt changed anything between the two of them.

The nurse nodded, her eyes shifting to the ribbon. She knew that purple blood, from years of him hurting himself and others. "She'll be fine, she was lucky. 0nly cracked ribs were the w0rst 0f her injuries. Tried t0 be a her0 f0r an0ther rust bl00d like me. I admire her stupidity." She pulled a chair out for Nepeta. "N0w… did y0u get anything in him? F00d, water? If he keeps this up, I'll need t0 m0niter him."

Stupidity was surely a good word for Feferi's actions. Nepeta thought before she took the offered seat. She lowered her gaze to the arm wrapped around her waist, unable to bring herself to drop her hand from the ribbon. She nodded.

"I got him to drink a glass of water… some milk. About half a loaf of bread-"She winced at the memory of him gagging over the bread. "And some strawberries." She finished. "He didn't want anything to do with food at first… I had to force the first drink of water…" Her voice grew softer as her cheeks burned. "Then… then I told him… if he didn't get better… he wouldn't be able to see me anymore."

To be honest, the nurse was very amused by all of this. She only had to guess what Nepeta had to do to get him to drink. "That's g00d, better than n0thing and it saves me the hastle 0f sp00n feeding him nutrient f00d." She began to collect all her papers. "I have the princess s0me 0f Jade's s0pher drink, mixed with s0me painkillers t0 put her in a painless sleep." She put the papers into a file. "I have a feeling it was a bit str0ng, s0 she will be 0ut f0r the rest 0f the day and well int0 the night. Wh00ps." She leaned back in her seat. "Shame really, I can imagine that bed y0u tw0 share will be awfully l0nely t0night." She looked over at Nepeta and winked.

Nepeta couldn't help but get the feeling that… the nurse had done that on purpose. She stared at her for a long moment before a smile crossed her lips; the first truly happy one she had smiled since she had been take from Gamzee. She stood from the chair, bolding from the office in the direction of the garden.

The nurse just smiled, watching her run off. "If there's anything I kn0w ab0ut patients, y0u d0n't play with their medicine."

Gamzee had been playing with sis for a bit, but he was nowhere near healthy again, and became tired quickly. He was now sprawled out in the shade of the rose bushes, panting softly as a cough escaped him every so often. Nepeta heard the coughing, and it sent a line of panic through her. She did her best to move fast, tripping over her dress and landing about a foot from him. "G-Gamzee?" She asked, wincing at the sting in her knees.

Gamzee turned his head to see her leaning over him. That was fast… His internal day counter must have been off. "Has it been another week or day already?" He panted, reaching up to touch the ribbon. Nepeta smiled at him, covering his hand with one of her own, shaking her head.

"The nurse… she gave the purrincess medicine, and she won't be looking for me until tomorrow at the earliest." She replied, holding tightly onto his hand.

It took a second for him to comprehend her words, then his eyes widened immensely. Nepeta… she looked so happy about it, that she would be able to spend time with him. His heart was soaring now and a smile, a real smile, appeared on his face. He snaked the hand on her ribbon around her neck and pulled himself up to her, his other arm supporting most of his weight shakily. He didn't care that she could feel all of his ribs pressed against her. She was there, warm and happy, and he wanted it to last.

Nepeta closed her eyes slowly, then pushed him back onto his back. She shifted a little closer, her torso laying on his, her face tucked into the crook of his neck. He was cooling off, compared to earlier, and a sigh of relief escaped her. He was a little confused at first, but didn't complain as she snuggled on top of him. He wasted no time wrapping his arms around her, holding her of so tight to himself. He wanted to stay like this, wanted to protect her and keep her in his arms.

"Nepsis…" No, it wasn't time yet to say _that_. But soon. Very soon.


	20. 20 Just a story

(A/N This chapter has quotes from Romeo and Juliet, which belongs to William Shakespeare, as well as a tale of the Mermaid Princess. Neither belong to me)

Nepeta blinked at the knocking that woke her, sitting up in the bed, pulling out of Gamzee's grasp. Wait, Gamzee? Right. She had gone with him to sleep in his room the night before, hadn't she? She set her feet on the carpet as there was another knock, and she padded to the door. She reached out slowly, then stopped. What if… what if it was Feferi? No, she would have just burst through the door. Eridan? Hesitantly, she turned the handle and peaked through the smallest opening of the door she could manage.

No one was there.

She opened the door carefully, looking around. There wasn't a single person in the hallway. She stepped back to close the door when an object in front of it caught her eye. Kneeling down, Nepeta discovered that it was an old and well worn book. Looking around, she picked the book up, stepping back and she closed the door.

Nepeta moved to the bed, sitting with her back propped against one of the four posts, her legs crossed with the book in her lap. "Ro… Romeo and Jul… Juliet…?" That's what the cover said; _Romeo and Juliet, and other tales of the heart._ She stated at the cover for a few moments longer, then opened to where the first story started.

"Did I say you could leave these arms?" A raspy voice said. Gamzee, eyes half open, was now sitting up slowly. Last night had to have been the best sleep he had ever gotten. He made sure the window was kept open and had changed the sheets to non-polar. He had a lazy grin on his face, watching Nepeta.

Nepeta's eyes flashed up at him for half a second before they were back on the black ink on the pages of the book. "Someone… someone knocked on the door…" She said, her voice trailing off. Gamzee tilted his head. She sure seemed interested whatever it was that she was reading.

"What's all got your attention?" He asked, shifting to her side to look at the pages in the book.

"This book is… filled with stories…" She said, looking up at him for a moment before she looked back down at the book. "Listen to this,

'Two households, both alike in dignity  
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,  
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,  
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.'"

She paused and looked up at them. "And I don't think any of them end happily…"

"Shakespearebro." Gamzee said, reading over her shoulder. "And bros say I talk weird." He added with a small smile. There was something about the end… But he couldn't remember. He thought for a moment, then took the book from her hands, moving back to lean against the head board. "Read to me?" Nepeta stared for a moment at the space the book had reside for a few moments after it had been taken before she looked up at him. Shifting she crawled over to him, allowing him to settle her between his legs, her back against his chest.

"What should we read?" She asked, flipping through the pages, though she stopped on the cover of… "The mermaid princess…?" She breathed.

He looked at her face, then back to the book. "Why not that one?" He asked. She gave a small nod, then turned the page and began to read.

" '_The little mermaid is a mermaid princess. One night, she found and rescued a human prince from a sea storm. The mermaid princess fell in love with the prince, and broke the rules of her father. In exchange for her beautiful voice, she drinks the medicine given to her by the sea witch and she herself turns into a human._

_But she can never become a mermaid again. And if the prince marries someone else, the mermaid princess will disappear the next morning. Her legs ache terrible… and she cannot tell the prince that she loves him._

_The prince marries the princess of a neighboring kingdom._

_The mermaid princess' sisters come, each having cut off their own hair to trade to the sea witch, in exchange for a dagger. They tell her that if she kills the prince with the dagger, she will not have to die._

_But the mermaid princess throws away the dagger. She wanted to be with the prince simply because she loved him. She had no fear or doubt, and drank the medicine only because she wanted to see the prince._

"_Why?" her sisters ask, begging to be able to understand._

_Her feet ache with sharp pains. She couldn't express her feelings with her lost voice, and people probably thought her actions were unreasonable._

_Slowly_

_Slowly, she began to think._

_-Because I will be much, much sadder if I kill you, than if I died myself. I am very, very happy… Because you look so happy. So, in exchange for her pain, the little mermaid princess learned how to love. She __**became**__ human._

_Then, in the morning light, standing on the shore_

_She turned into seafoam.'"_

It wasn't until she saw the green tinted drop that now dripped onto the pages of the book that Nepeta realized she was crying.

Gamzee saw the drop too and was confused for a second. Blood? He reached out and swiped the liquid up, brushing his finger against his tongue. Too thin and salty for blood. "Nepsis…" He trailed off, taking the book from her and setting it on the bed. He turned her around and swiped a hand under both of her eyes. "Just a story, Nepsis."

Nepeta shut her eyes tightly, trying to stop the faint stream that fell from them. She was embarrassed, to say the least. "You… you're right. It's just… just a story." She choked out, leaning forward to press her face against his chest. Gamzee wrapped his arms tight around her, rocking her back and forth a bit.

"It's all good. I got you." He murmured into her hair. "What got you all upset now?"

Nepeta shook her head, focusing on breathing for a few moments. "I… It makes me sad… beclaws I don't know… if I would do… the same…" She mumbled into his shoulder. Would he be able to do that? Give up his happiness, his life even, for the one he loved to be happy? He wanted… _her_ to be happy, even if that meant he wasn't. Gamzee kissed the top of his head, running his fingers along the ribbon still around her neck.

"I think I might… if it meant mah crush was happy in the end." Nepeta pulled back just enough to watch his hand, then she closed her eyes again, pressing closer to the cold hand. He hesitated, then placed both hands on her cheeks, cupping her face. He leaned forward, brushing her nose with his. "You do no backing away anymore." He breathed. She opened her eyes, giving him a bit of a confused look.

"Backing away?" She repeated, placing one hand over his, the other onto his painted cheek. He was glad she wasn't touching the 'marked' cheek, and he nuzzled her hand.

"'Member? You'd freeze up and pull away." He explained. She had gotten more comfortable, almost mirroring his advances in her own way. Nepeta's cheeks tinted and she looked down.

"Like… like yesterday…" She said softly. "I… I get nervous and scared… I don't mean to… I just do." She admitted almost inaudibly. Gamzee's smile dimmed ever so slightly, but then he shifted so he was looking eye to eye with her.

"Do I make with the uncomfortable for you?" He asked. Nepeta stared at him for a moment.

"I… No." She replied. "I'm still… not used to everything here. Or how you act. I'm getting used to it, it just… it's taking a while." She explained, closing her eyes. Nepeta fell silent for a long while before she looked up at him. "Gamzee, the man who cul-" She was cut off by knocking at the door. She pulled back from him, moving to the door. The nurse on the other side informed the two of them that Feferi was awake, then left.

Feferi was awake, and probably out looking for Nepeta. Gamzee stood up from his bed a little fast, having to grab a hold of the bedpost to catch himself as Nepeta moved to his side.

"I… I'll return as soon as I can, Gamzee. Okay?" She asked. Taking his hand, she moved it to the ribbon. "I purromise." Gamzee nodded, dropping to his knees to hug her, his head resting against her chest and his arms wrapping tight around her waist. He could say it… could say it right now, but… Even with an open mouth, nothing came out. He couldn't even think, he could only focus on her breathing, her heart beating. He breathed in shakily and buried his face into her chest. Nepeta closed her eyes, petting his hair for a long moment before she pulled away slowly. "I'll be back." She repeated, grabbing the book before she hurried from the room and to her own.


	21. 21 Happy endings

Eridan hadn't left Feferi's side. He hadn't intended to fall asleep… it just sort of happened about an hour after the sun had rose. His scarf was mainly off his neck as well, his scar hidden because his head was turned and rested on his arms enough to hide the silver line.

Feferi opened her eyes, blinking a couple times as she came to. Where… was she? Wait… Yesterday… the market… that's right. She was in the infirmary now. She looked over to see Eridan with his head in his arms, his scarf half off. It was cute; he had staid to watch over her.

"-Eridan…" She whispered, reaching out. She barely managed to pick up one end of the scarf and throw it over to cover his neck. His hair… it looked so soft in the morning light. She wanted to run her fingers through it… Maybe if she sat up just a little bit. "Ah-!" she whimpered when she attempted. Pain shot up her torso and she fell back onto the bed.

Eridan bolted awake at the cry, eyes wide. "F-Fef?" He stuttered. "Fef, you really shouldn't movve." He said.

"I just wanted…" She trailed off and he leaned a little closer to her. Reaching out, Feferi touched the scarf over the scar. Feeling him tense up under her hand and moved her hand to his hair. It was soft, just as she thought. "That. I wanted to do that." She murmured.

"All you had to do wwas ask." Eridan said, tilting his head a little so she would have better access to his hair. She didn't say anything, just played with his hair for a little bit.

"Sorry… You were asleep and I didn't want to wake you… Have you gotten any sleep recently?" She asked. Eridan shook his head.

"Not really." He admitted. "Howw about you and Nepeta?" He asked. "That could be wwhy she became ill." It was Feferi's turn to shake her head.

"Things haven't been the same… It's my fault… I just wanted to go back to normal between us…" She dropped her hands from his hair and let it move to her stomach.

Eridan looked at her, taking her hand. "She'll understand one day. Wwhen she does, things wwill go back to normal." He soothed. She nodded, looking up at him. His scarf was falling down again. She reached up to fix it when…

"Do you have the scarf from the market still? And the puffer?" she asked. Eridan nodded, pulling back just enough to reach under the bed, picking up the puffer and scarf from under it and handing them to her as Feferi did a little grabby movement with her hands. She gladly accepted the puffer, successfully squeezing some of the stuffing out of the poor thing. She tried to sit up again, but didn't get far. "Little kelp?" Eridan nodded again, moving closer. He placed one hand on her back, the other holding onto her arm as he helped her sit up.

Feferi thanked him and snuggled with the pufferfish to get her mind off the pain. She then noticed the scarf beside her. She pulled it out. "Now do you wanna try it on?" she asked. Eridan looked around, then slipped off his current stripped scarf. Feferi took the old one as he put on the new, and wrapped it around the pufferfish. "There. Sea? More resemblance."

Eridan actually let out a small laugh. "Wwith the scarf, it does look more like me." He agreed. "Are you ready to movve to your room noww? I'm sure it'll be more comfortable then here."

"Her bandages need changing, then she can be m0ved." The rust blood said, entering the room, looking at her clipboard. She stopped next to Feferi to check on her. "Cutie." She mused, referring to the pufferfish. "Fr0m the market?" She asked, taking Feferi's pulse. She paused, looking at the scarf around it, pointing from it up to Eridan. "W0w. She g0t a new scarf 0n y0u. L00ks… Nice." She remembered those colors well, and the loud mouth that they belonged to.

Eridan shifted a little, sure that she knew why he picked the one he had. He then nodded. "I'll wwait outside for you. Then I'll help you to your room." He said, standing then leaving the room.

The nurse ran back out to mix a glass, and Feferi backed into the pillow when she saw the color. "N0w d0n't d0 that, it's harmless and y0u kn0w it n0w. W0uld you rather be in pain?" That was what persuaded Feferi and she downed the mix.

Eridan returned when a nurse gave him the okay and he offered a small smile to Feferi. "Can you stand?"

"I-I'm not shore…" She trailed off, swinging her legs around to the edge of the bed, and hopped off. She stood for about a second before she crashed to the flood. Eridan tensed, kneeling beside her.

"Here." He said, pulling her into his arms as he picked her up bridal style. He held her gently but tightly to his check and with that, carried her out of the infirmary room.

Eridan wasn't surprised to see Nepeta sitting in her corner of the room and he set Feferi on the bed. Upon a second look to Nepeta, he noticed the book that held her attention. Feferi looked over at Nepeta, a weak smile on her face.

"You look better, do you feel better?" She asked. If she hadn't been so stumbly, she would have ran over to give her the biggest hug in the world. Nepeta looked up from her book, making the first form of eye contact with the princess since she had started the cold shoulder act. She offered a small shrug, looking back to the book before she could see Eridan's faint smile.

"I told you she wwould come around."

It was a start, she had to repeat that to herself. It was a start. She sat up a bit and raised her arms up at Eridan. "Stay for a bit?" She asked. Eridan nodded, moving to sit beside her on the bed.

"I'll stay wwith you as long as you wwant me to." He said, smiling at her. Nepeta stood, closing the book and holding it close to her chest as she made her way to sit at the desk. She sat with her back to them, not wanting to start another fight with Feferi, but not wanting to watch the two of them cuddle either. Feferi reached for and squeezed Eridan's hand, then looked to Nepeta.

"Nep? You wanna join us over here? Could brush your hair." She suggested, knowing that Nepeta loved being pampered; especially when her hair was brushed. Nepeta bit her tongue at the 'us' and focused on breathing calmly. The part of her that saw Feferi still as a friend perked up at the offer, and her grip on the book tightened.

"I'd rather read my book, princess." She said, focusing on her words so as to not use her normal pun of Feferi's title. Even Eridan winced at that, rubbing the back of Feferi's hand with his thumb.

A huge lump clogged Feferi's throat and she buried her head in the pillow next to her, irritating her ribs. She straightened out and was lying pretty flat on her stomach, clutching the puffer to her chest. But even that couldn't stop the choked sob that wanted to escape her. She just wanted Nepeta to smile at her again, for things to be okay with everyone, but everything she did was wrong.

The sob that Nepeta heard hurt her, and she forced herself not to snap and say something mean. She looked to Feferi for a long moment. Standing, she moved to the bed, sitting in front of the foot board on the bed, ignoring the several emotions that were on Eridan's face. She crossed her legs, opened her book and began to read the sea foam princess aloud.

Feferi moved her hands to her ribs, trying to stop the pain as she desperately wanted the pain killers. Then she heard Nepeta and she peaked an eye open to see her seated on the bed… reading aloud? Every once in a while, Feferi would read aloud to Nepeta when she would have nightmares… back when they were good friends any way. Slowly she turned over and put her head on Eridan's leg, eyes for only Nepeta at the moment.

Once the story was finished, Nepeta managing to not get upset enough to cry this time, she closed the book and raised her gaze to Feferi. She hid the flash of anger that flickered, due to Feferi allowing herself to still be around Eridan while she had to watch the two of them, the best she could but she knew Eridan knew by the faint look of guilt in his eyes.

Feferi could see it as well. "-Eridan… sink you could leave us for a sec?" She asked, sitting up a bit on the pillows. Eridan looked between the two of them.

"I'll be just outside if you need me." He said before he stood, exiting the room. Once he had, Nepeta stood, making her way back to the desk.

"Nepeta wait!" She called out. "Just do it. Yell. Scream at me… you're mad… I know you are." Nepeta looked back at her, setting the book on the desk.

"Mad? Is that the word you want to use?" She asked. "I'm not mad. I was _scared_ when you hit Gamzee for helping me sleep. I was _angry_ when you used you highblood power over me to forbid me from seeing him. I'm not mad." She said before she gritted her teeth, now standing beside the bed. "I'm _disgusted_."

Disgusted… that was a good word to use, Feferi thought. She didn't falter or look away from her- whatever they were now. "You have more to say, I'm sure." She made sure to keep her own puns out.

Feferi was trying to anger her, wasn't she? "You had _no_ right to take me from him!" She snapped, her hands balling into fists. "You wouldn't even let him or I defend ourselves! You knew- no, you _know_ that he means a lot to me! You know how hard it was to leave my mother, and yet you still decided it was perfectly fine for you to be with your highblooded prince while I stay locked in this room or have to stay by your side while you two play all but kissy-face!" Her yellow nails had cut into her palms, olive green falling to stain the carpet, green tinted tears falling from her eyes. "You keep proving to me that I am not, and never will be, a princess that someone could ever want! And when I finally found someone who thought else wise, you refuse to allow it!" Her voice cracked as she literally screamed the last words.

There was no simple sorry words that were going to fix any of this. She had really hurt her friend. She hung her head, tears falling onto the slip she still wore. "Go to him then, spend as much time with him as you want." She simply aid, somehow keeping her voice even. Nepeta had every right to be disgusted with Feferi; she was disgusted with herself.

Wait, had she really just said- "No." Nepeta replied, moving to the desk. She picked up the book again, then seated herself beside Feferi. "I'm going to stay here, right here, until you're better. Not Eridan, me." She said, opening the book. Feferi was grateful that Nepeta was choosing to stay with her, even if they both were disgusted with Feferi.

"Can I brush your hair? Like old times?" She asked. Nepeta nodded, getting up to retrieve a brush before she settled in front of Feferi.

"I… I wanna read you another story. I think it'll do us both good." She said. What little she had already read of Romeo and Juliet seemed to fit their situation. Feferi sniffled, running the brush through Nepeta's hair.

"I'd like that." She murmured. She just wanted to enter a bubble, where there was no Eridan or Gamzee. One where they were back in her old room, four sweeps old, Nepeta proudly reading a story to show how much her mom had taught her that day. Nepeta closed her eyes for a moment, then began reading.

Feferi loved Nepeta's voice when she read aloud. Nepeta had a way of bringing the words to life. She always got into it, cried at sad parts, and laughed at the funny ones. She continued to rub the brush through Nepeta's hair as she read. It had gotten pretty tangled in the past few days, but she worked through the knots. After a while she set the brush down and placed her forehead on the back of Nepeta's neck, trying to ignore her sore ribs, but a soft whimper managed to escape her.

Nepeta would pause when the other would whine, waiting for her pain to ease before she would continue.

"

'His name is Romeo, and a Montague. The only son of your… great enemy…' "

Nepeta frowned softly, stopping before she closed the book. "I… I don't want to read this anymore…" She said softly.

Feferi lifted her head up, confused. "Oh? Why?" She inquired. She remembered reading the story a couple sweeps ago, and remembered that Romeo and Juliet's love was forbidden. Nepeta swallowed hard.

"Beclaws… It's not going to have a happy ending… I can tell." She said, eyes locked on the cover. "Just like the sea foam princess." She was able to remember that one well now that she had read it twice.

The Sea foam princess… Feferi remembered that one as well. But… "Can I sea the book for a second?" She asked. Nepeta's grip tightened defensively on the book, then slowly eased before she carefully held it to the other female. Feferi scanned the table of contents and flipped through the pages. "Here we go." She said, keeping her thumb on the page as she passed the book back to Nepeta. "This one has a happy ending." She said. Nepeta gave Feferi a confused look.

"I…" Her eyes scanned over the pages. A girl's father died and she was left in the care of an evil step mother. Nepeta continued to read. A ball. Fairy godmother. The stroke of midnight. Then… "The purrince… Went looking for her…?" She breathed.

Feferi nodded. "Love at first sight." She smiled. "Keep reading~ it gets better." Nepeta nodded, turning the page, her eyes widening at the final illustration. The prince was kneeled down in front of Cinderella, smiling up at her as he slid on her glass slipper. Feferi smiled.

"He looked all over for her, and put that shoe on everykrill in the kingdom. He didn't care that she was poor or a maid. He found his fincess." She explained. Nepeta nodded, then swallowed hard, closing the book.

"It's.. it's ju-" she stopped herself. She remembered Gamzee's words. _It's just a story._ "It's nice." She said, closing her eyes.

Gamzee stumbled out to the garden to check on the soper flowers. The jars he had stock piled the past week were near empty now so they needed to be refilled. As he walked, his mind drifted from him. He had heard earlier screaming and yelling coming from Fefsis' room. He couldn't quite make out any words, but he could tell that Nepeta was not happy about something. He had wanted to, so badly, go check on her. To make the bad feelings go away, but he had to wait for her to come to him. Even though he hated waiting.

By now he had reached the flowers, and froze. Their jaws… they were closed tight. He squatted down and tried to pry the jaws apart, but they wouldn't budge. He had sucked them dry, and the plants were in shock. He would take at least a week and a half for the slime to replenish enough for them to open again.

"Well… shit."


	22. 22 Silent trama

Nepeta frowned softly, her eyes moving quickly over the words on the page. Romeo… he hadn't been able to tell the Juliet wasn't actually dead, and he had killed himself with poison. She swallowed hard as Juliet awoke to find Romeo, dead beside her death bed, and took a dagger to herself. Her grip on the book tightened enough to cause the green tint in them to disappear, leaving just the gray.

["Never was there a tale of more woe

Than that of Juliet, and her Romeo"]

Nepeta was up now, standing on trembling legs as she set the book beside the stack of papers she had been writing on the past week. What if Gamzee had- she shook her head, hurrying from her room in search of Gamzee.

Nepeta rounded the corner too quickly, unable to stop herself from running into the long black haired female. Her eyes widened as she staggered back a step. "I'm pawfully sorry." She said, trying to move around her. The cerulean blood set her hands on Nepeta's shoulders.

"Heeeeeeeey now. Where's the fire?" She asked. Nepeta stared at her for a moment.

"There's no fire. I have… I have to go find Gamzee." She said, looking past her, trying to see if she could see Gamzee. "I have to… I have to tell him…" She trailed off. The blue blood tilted her head.

"Why would you want to talk to that stoner? Not like he can actually carry on a convers8ion." She laughed. Nepeta didn't know how to respond at first.

"Maybe you're just not someone he cares to have a conversation with." She said firmly. "Now if you'll excuse me." She said, trying to move past her again. The other moved with Nepeta to block her path.

"You're the Olive 8lood that's the princess' lady in w8ing, right?" She put a hand to her chin, tapping it. "Oh, it makes sense n8w! You need to give Gamzee princess Fefhair's l8est love letter!" She explained, seeming proud that she had come up with that conclusion. Nepeta tensed, all color draining from her face.

"I… what?" She asked, her entire body freezing. "F… Fefurri loves… Gamzee…?" She asked, her voice squeaking at the end. The blue blood tilted her head.

"Yeah, didn't you hear the l8est scoop? The kind and queen got together and decided that Gamzee would be king with princess Fefhair, his m8sprit. I don't know who I pity more. Gaaaaaaaamzee or Fefhair. Maybe Fefhair, I mean, who could ever seeeeeeee anything good in that fried, st8ned, wasted away 8ody of his?"

Nepeta felt like her world had done a 180 and it took her a few moments to realize she was now on the floor, her legs trembling. "G… Gamzee… loves f… Fefurri…" Her face was a sickly pale shade of gray and she stared down the hall without seeing anything. Vriska tilted her head, confused as she watched the small troll pale.

"Heeeeeeeey, you okay?" She inquired, sitting down next to her.

"Gamzee… I… I thought…" her throat tightened, silencing all else. The blue blood put an arm awkwardly around Nepeta's shoulders.

"Thought he liked guys? I think we all did. Especially from how he always hung on that temper tantrum Karscream." Nepeta looked to her, opening her mouth without any sound escaping. She closed her mouth, standing from the blue blood's touch. She bolted in the direction she had come from, past their room and to the front door. The time it took her to open the door caused her to over hear a group of maids.

"Didn't you hear him? He said he didn't want Eridan to have Feferi. That he wanted her all to himself."

She didn't close the door behind herself, she just started to run again.

Eridan was proud of himself, if he would admit it. The water was now almost up to his shoulders and even though his movements were stiff and jerky, he wasn't freaking out. It was close to two months since they had started their swim lessons and he was finally at the point of learning to actually swim.

"-Eridan, you gotta loosen up. You're doing so well." Feferi said, keeping her hands on his waist. She was immensely proud of him, he had accomplished so much since they had started. "Remember, your legs and arms propel you forward. So keep them loose or you won't go far." She was sure he could get neck deep soon. Dunking his head would come after that.

Eridan gave a nod, his breathing picking up as the water rose, soaking his scarf and sliding over his neck. His breathing even hitched when the water touched his scar and he stopped moving.

Feferi felt him tense up and she tightened her grip on him. "It's okay. It's okay. It feels weird, I know. I remember." She shifted to face him. He could float for a but, but had the option of putting his feet on the sand below himself. "Naturally, your gills are half closed when not in use. You have to practice fully closing them. Learn which muscles to use. Clench your neck muscles until you feel your gills close." She took his hands and put them to her own gills, not having to use much effort to close her gills. "Sea?"

Eridan forced his eyes open and he watched her before he tried to mimic the action. After a couple of tries he got it down and Feferi smiled. "Very good –Eridan. Sink you can try to let the water run over your neck?" Eridan nodded again, hesitant and stiff.

"I'm… I'm going to swwim wwith you by the end of the day." He replied. Feferi paused for a second, then nodded.

"If that's your goal." She said. "It's possible to swim without putting your head under the water. Wanna try?" Eridan found that plan much more appealing.

"Howw?" He asked, his eyes locked onto her face.

Feferi let go and guided him to stand in the sand. "You kick your legs and swing your arms. Like this." She demonstrated and swam a little ways away from him, then swam back. Eridan watched close, then tied to mimic the action, but the moment he couldn't feel the sand anymore he froze and began to sputter on water, panicking as he tried to stay a float.

Feferi immediately put her hands on his waist, pulling him up to keep him a float. "Touch back on the sand." She said. It had worked… better than she thought it was going to at least. She didn't expect him to turn into a graceful merman. Eridan touched back to the sand, coughing on water that wasn't in his lungs for a long while, his eyes shut tight.

"This… isn't going wwell." He said softly.

Feferi shook her head. "Don't say that." She pleaded, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Just breath for a second, okay?"

Eridan nodded, inhaling as deeply and slowly as he cold with his panic still in place. He managed to calm down after a while though, opening his eyes. Then he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his gaze to the shore. "Nepeta…?" He asked. She was breathing heavier than he was.

Feferi followed his gaze and saw Nepeta as well. She couldn't see much from the water but… She knew Nepeta never came down to the shore. She hated water. Feferi had given her full range again, but she used the time to read her book. She said Gamzee had been sick and wanted to let him rest.

"Nepeta!" She called out, grabbing Eridan's hand, wading towards the shore. They were still knee deep in the water when Nepeta's own knees gave out and she fell to the sand. They picked up their pace and Eridan saw the green hue that laced her green eyes, and her shaking was almost violent. Feferi sank to her knees and cupped Nepeta's face in her hands, wiping the tears away with her thumbs.

"Nepeta, sweetie, what's wrong?" She was so pale, panting so hard and it worried Feferi to say the least. Nepeta opened her mouth, but when no sound came out yet again, she closed it, closing her eyes. She shook her head and Eridan looked to Feferi, unsure of what to do. Feferi didn't have a clue either and she put a hand to Nepeta's forehead. "Are you sick again? Do you need to lie down?" She asked.

"Wwe should get her to your room." Eridan said before he picked Nepeta up. How limp she went in his arms made him swallow hard and he looked to Feferi who shook her head. The only similar time Nepeta acted like this was when something triggered the memories she refused to talk about. But she'd be mewing. The would be the indicator and she was completely silent.

"Should we… ask Gamzee?" Eridan nodded.

"I'll leavve her wwith you, then I'll go see him." He said, leading the way back up to the castle. Once inside Feferi took Nepeta onto her back, wanting Eridan to speak with Gamzee immediately. Once the two were back in the room, Feferi set Nepeta on the bed.

"Nepeta, please. Talk to me. Did Gamzee do somefin? Say somefin to you?" Nepeta shook her head, staring down at her hands. She slowly raised her head after a few minutes of silence, and pointed to her book on the desk. Feferi looked over and saw the book, walking over to pick it up, handing it to Nepeta, a confused look on her face. "Nepeta… can you please say somefin…?"

Nepeta looked up at her, then down at the book. Her fingers brushed over the cover, then she opened it, starting to read the next story. _Cinderella, a Grimm's Fairytale._ That did it for Feferi. She put her hands over the pages and out her face close to Nepeta's.

"Talk to me. Please."

Nepeta paused, looking up at Feferi. She pulled the book back, flipped through the pages, then pointed to the sea foam princess. Feferi looked at the picture. What did Nepeta mean? A mermaid fell in love with a prince, made a deal with the sea witch…

Then, couldn't talk.

"So you can't talk? But why not?" Nepeta shook her head, looking down at the book. Her fingers traced over the final illustration, the Sea foam on the water, then she closed the book, lying back and onto her side, curling around the book.

Feferi watched for a second, then smoothed out Nepeta's hair. "Why don't you rest for a bit? I'll go get you some warm milk, okay?" She offered. She moved some hair from her face and placed a kiss on her forehead, sliding off the bed. "I'm worried aboat you, Nepeta." Nepeta gave a small nod, her eyes sliding closed. This was so much like the sea foam princess… But Gamzee… he said that it was only a story…

Eridan was hesitant. Gamzee had been outside of his room this last week, but not for long. He still hadn't spoken to the other male since the Grand Highblood had asked him to leave the two of them alone. Straightening his spine, he knocked on the door.

"YeaH?" a hoarse voice called out from the other side of the door. Eridan slowly opened it.

"Gam, havve you talked to Nepeta today?" He asked, stepping into the room. "She's not talking… Fef is wworried."

Gamzee was a mess again, the room in the same shape. The horn piles were smaller, broken horns and juggling clubs broken near dents in the walls. He was curled up on his bed, shaking a bit as he rocked a little back and forth.

"N-NepsIs?" He shook his head. As the days went on, he distanced himself from Nepeta, telling her he was sick. He wanted to be near her so badly, but there was no telling what would happen if he lost control around her. Eridan tensed at the sight and the sound of his voice.

"No Gam. It's me; Eridan." He said. "Wwhat… wwhat happened?" Gamzee turned his blood shot eyes to Eridan.

"SophEr stream Ran dRy. Still gonna be CoupLe days Till The rIver GonnA run 'Gain." A headache in the back of his head had been bugging him for almost the whole week. He moved his hands to his hair and tugged a little. Eridan winced.

"So… you havven't talked to Nepeta today? You don't knoww wwhat's wwrong wwith her?" He asked. Gamzee peered through his hair at the other troll.

"SomeThinG wroNg wiTh nePsis?" He didn't have the slightest clue. The last time they had talked she had seemed fine.

"Wwe don't knoww." She said. "She wwon't say anything to Fef or I." He stated. "Wwe thought you had said something to her." Gamzee shook his head.

"HaveN't doNe no InteRactIng wIth nEpsiS for A couPle oF days."

Eridan nodded once. "Fef may havve gotten it out of her by noww." He said, stepping back and closing the door, heading back to Feferi and Nepeta's room.

(?)

Nepeta sunk to her knees in front of the door, her throat tight as she pressed her forehead to the door. She wanted them all just to leave…

Gamzee leaned against the door for a bit after walking out. He heard her lock it… and heard her sob. It tore his heart apart and he was positive he was to blame for all this. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way back to his room. The lighting was dim, which was nice on his eyes. He closed the door and slid down to sit on the floor, curling in on himself.

"Nep… NepeTa…" her smile flashed behind his closed eyes, but it slowly turned into a pained expression. Her body distorted before him on the floor. He looked up, and her body was still there. "NEPETA!" He lunged forward, but the body vanished and he hit his chin on the floor, causing him to bite his tongue. Sitting back up he opened his mouth and his tongue lolled out. Purple drops hit his hands, and soon green joined; then bright red. Marks showed up on his skin under the blood, then symbols all too familiar. "NOOO!"

Get it off, get it off.

He began to feverishly wipe his hands on his arms, nails soon digging into his skin, but the marks still remained.

"Why… Can no oNe see thEm?"

Eridan exited his own room, making his way across the hall to the girls' room. He knocked, but when he got no answer, he tried to open the door. Why was it…

"Fef? Nep?" He called.

"Yes?" Fef called back from down the hall, walking to Eridan. She had just finished her bath. The hot water had felt wonderful on her still healing body, so she had taken longer than she had expected. Eridan looked over at her, still trying the door knob.

"Nep locked the door." He said. Feferi stared at him a moment, then motioned for him to move so she could try the knob herself. Locked, just as he had said. She knocked on the door.

"Nepeta? Are you in there?"

Nepeta's fingers cured against the wood, leaving light claw marks in their wake.

Eridan let out a soft sigh. "Maybe its best to leavve her along for the night?" He suggested, placing a hand on Feferi's shoulder. Feferi thought for a bit, then nodded.

"Maybe… Nep? Try and get some rest, okay? I love you." Eridan pulled her gently from the door and lead her back to his own room.

"Are you going to be alright?"

Feferi shrugged. "I hope she's okay…" She trailed off, waking over to sit on the bed. She looked over and giggled. "How did grumpy gills get in here?" She asked, pulling the puffer fish to her chest. It had been mended and stuffed since the market incident and looked much better.

Eridan offered a small smile and sat beside her on the bed. "I'm not sure."

Feferi smiled down at the fish. "A mystery then." She nuzzled the fish then grabbed Eridan's glasses to put them on the fish's face. "Look~ No difference~" He leaned forward to get a better look and smiled as his vision focused.

"No difference at all." He said, humoring her. She smiled and pushed his face away playfully. Looking back down at the puffer fish she replied.

"Grumpy gills is a lot like you. He was a little roughed up before, has a scar now on his side. And he was a little ways away from the other fronds, so he was lonely. But he'll be okay now, because I'm here and want to make shore he's happy." She squeezed the fish to her chest and hoped Eridan was able to pick up on her double meaning.

Eridan's smile faded and he stared at her for a long while. Well, the blurry version of her that he saw any way. "I… I hope he becomes happy." He said, groping around for her hand. Once he took it he gave her a bit of a serious expression. "Because I am, wwith you here."

Feferi looked up at him and smiled, but realized he probably couldn't see it. She placed his glasses back on his face, a smile still on hers. "I'm happy too, being with you." She leaned forward and placed a feather light kiss on his scarfed neck, right over the scar.

He was surprised by the action, but managed not to flinch away. When she pulled back, he placed a hand on her cheek. "Ready for bed?" He asked. She offered a shrug.

"I am a little tired…" She admitted, laying back on the bed. She thought for a moment, then held her arms out, silently asking for cuddles. Eridan shifted more so onto the bed so he was beside her again, then laid with his head on her chest, closing his eyes. She hadn't been kidding when she had said she loved cuddling, had she?

She wasted no time in wrapping her arms around him, her hands making their way to his hair. "You take reely good care of your hair, don't you? It's always so soft and smells good." She leaned in for a second, cocoa butter scented hair products mixed with his cologne created his scent. His nice, comforting scent. Eridan nodded, relaxing against her.

"Hair can help make one look more attractivve." He stated. "It can be used as a tool, if you wwill." He added.

"A tool? As in to get the lady trolls?" She giggled. "And how does that work for you?" He offered a small shrug.

"Before you and Nep came here, wwe didn't get many ladies." He explained. He turned his head up, opening his eyes to look up at her. "And you seem to like it, so I guess it wworks wwell." She had to agree with him on that, so she smiled.

"I do like it. You are reely attractive –Eridan. I swoon when I sink of you." She giggled. Eridan felt his cheeks darken and he broke eye contact with her, looking to her hand. He took it gently.

"You're the first to evver think so."

Feferi had meant it in a teasing manner, but with how sincere he took it, she didn't have the heart to tell him so.

"I'm glad to be the first." She breathed.

"I wwas wworried that I scared you off back wwhen I told you… about being married off." Eridan admitted softly. She thought for a moment. Right, the quadrant clause. When one of them filled their red quadrant, they would become king. To be honest, she didn't like thinking about it. The only reason she was here was so one of them could fill their quadrant. Their kingdoms wouldn't unite, but she would become a queen.

"It is what it is…"

"But it upset you. That's the last thing I wwould evver wwant to do." He said, sitting up to look down at her. "If it wwould make any difference, I wwould talk to my father and try to find a wway around it." Feferi shook her head.

"From what I've heard aboat him, talking to him won't change Anyfin. As long as…" She hesitated for a moment. "As long as things don't change between us." He gave her a confused look.

"Change… between us?" He asked. Did she mean… what he thought she meant?

She nodded. "You know… waterever happens… wether you find a matesprit or…" she shook her head, reaching across the pillows for grumpy gills. "That…I'll still be Fef to you." She finished, keeping her eyes on grumpy gills.

She… She couldn't tell? "Fef…" He trailed off for a moment, then gave a small sign, smiling as he took her hand again. "You'll alwways be Fef to me." Feferi smiled at that, yawning after.

"I'm glad." She said. "Sleepy time now?" Eridan nodded.

"Wwe can check on Nep in the morning." He added, moving to lay beside her. Feferi scooted up right next to him and pressed her lips to his scarf once more over his scar. She was still concerned about Nepeta and her relationship with Gamzee. But she was also unsure of herself and Eridan, not to mention the mirage clause. It all made her head ring a bit, so she could only hope things would get better in the morning.

Nepeta opened her eyes, blinking a few times as the door came into focus, a few inches from her face. She had… fallen asleep in front of the door? Shaking her head as she pushed herself up into a sitting position she ran a hand through her hair. Moving to push some stray locks over her shoulder, her fingers brushed against the ribbon and she flinched. She stood and started to move back to lay down on the bed, her eyes catching on her book. Padding over to pick it up, a folded slip of paper fell out. She knelt to pick it up, setting her book down as she unfolded the page.

I'm sorry my prince. After learning about your mirage, I was in so much pain that I almost killed you. But, I couldn't because I loved you too much. And seeing you so happy, makes me more happy that I could have ever imagined it could. With that, I wish you a life as happy as you have made mine as I leave you and return to the sea.

~The Mermaid princess.

Nepeta tensed, eyes wide at the writing, her hands beginning to tremble. Gamzee had said… that it was only a story…


	23. 23 Distruction from instability

(This chapter has a few lines from an English translation of Romeo and Cinderella, a Vocaloid song. I own none of it~)

Eridan's eyes slid open and he looked toward the door when he heard a crash that sounded from the hallway. Assuming it was simply one of the maids knocking something over he paid no mind to it and slid his eyes closed once again.

Feferi blinked her eyes open, yawing as she sat up and stretched. She looked over to see Eridan still fast asleep and smiled. Reaching out she fixed his scarf, then sighed. She had better check on Nepeta. Sliding off his bed she exited the room and wandered across the hall. "Nep? You awake?" She called out, jiggling the handle. She found it to be unlocked; had Nepeta unlocked it last night? Feferi opened the door and screamed.

The scream forced Eridan to bold awake. Seeing Feferi was missing from his bed he jumped up and out of his bed, nearly tripping over himself as he ran from his room and to where she stood. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but no sound came out as it simply hung open at the sight.

The room was a disaster. Things had been torn off the shelves and desk, now taking a cluttered residence on the floor. The sheets on the bed were a mess as well as being torn in several places. He swallowed hard and felt himself almost flinch when he saw the mirror had been broken as well.

Feferi was shaking out of fear. Where was Nepeta? What happened while they were asleep? She stepped into the room, her eyes making contact with the book that had hardly left Nepeta's sight. She picked it up and a few papers fell out so she retrieved them. It was Nepeta's writing.

"Not just a story… Gamzee… confession… love?!" Feferi opened the book; the dog-eared page was the picture of the sea foam. What…? Wordlessly she pushed the open book into Eridan's face. He staggered back a step, giving the book an odd look.

"Isn't this… the story she read to you?" He asked. He flipped a few pages in the book, finding more loose papers with writing.

" 'Please don't let out lovve turn out

Into a tragedy like it wwas for Juliet

Take me awway from this place

That is my only desire.' "

His frown only deepened and he looked to Feferi. "Wwhat do you think happened?"

Feferi shook her head. "I… don't know." She looked at one of the loose papers and read it again. She saw Gamzee was mentioned so she ran from the room and down to his room, banging on the door. Eridan caught the name out of the corner of his eye and followed on Feferi's heel. When she began to pound on Gamzee's door he tensed and tried to pull her from it.

Gamzee was pulled from his dreams when the banging reached his ears. He never took kindly to being woken like this and he stumbled to the door. Pulling it open, he reached out and grabbed Feferi's wrist with an unusual quickness of one who just woke up. Feferi's eyes widened and she froze, staring at his dark purple eyes.

"How can a Motherfucker help Fefsis this early In the morn?" he asked thought gritted teeth. Eridan stared at him with wide eyes, trying desperately to think of what to say to calm him down. What passed his lips was probably the worst thing possible.

"Nep is missing."

Gamzee's eyes widened, all sleepiness gone… Nepsis… His Nepsis? No… He stepped forward into the hall, Feferi taking quite a few steps back, colliding with Eridan in the process. "This better ain't be a joke. Cause I ain't LAUGHING." He shouted the last word. Eridan shook his head, holding Feferi close against himself.

"You can go check her room for yourself." He said, pointing in the direction of the torn apart room. Gamzee looked from the smaller pair to the room, taking a split second to tear for the room. He stopped in his tracks at the sight, his hands starting to shake. He turned back to the pair.

"Who did this? WHO?!" he shouted, pushing Feferi away, standing with his forehead to Eridan's as the female fell to the floor. Eridan wanted to step back, but found himself unable to.

"Wwe don't knoww." He said, his stammering worse than usual. "Fef wwent to check on her… and she wwas gone. She wwrote something about you… and a confession… of… Lovve…"

A confession… of love? Her… for him? What? But then why…? He stepped back a few steps, his breathing becoming heavy as his back collided with a pillar. Both of his hands moved over his pounding heart. "She… she did that? The room?"

Eridan swallowed hard, then nodded. "Ww-wwe believve so." He said gently. "But wwe aren't sure wwhy… That's wwhy wwe wwoke you up… to see if you kneww anything about it." Gamzee shook his head.

"I don't know nothing. Saw her yesterday for a bit but… she wasn't acting right…" He didn't understand… didn't know… "Vriska." Eridan frowned.

"Gam, wwe need to focus. Wwhat does Vvris havve to do wwith any of this?" He asked, finding movement in his body again. He kneeled down beside Feferi, offering to help her up. Feferi accepted the help, leaning against him once she was standing. Gamzee straightened, looking down the hall. "She'd know. She knows everything that done goes on here." He tore down that hall, colliding with several pillars as he did so.

Eridan winced, hearing most of the collisions. "Wwe should go look in the room for any other clues as to wwhere she's run off to." Feferi nodded.

"Okay… I hope she's okay…" She couldn't help but feel guilty, like she had had a hand in this some how. But they should be okay now; Nepeta had the freedom to see Gamzee now. Eridan nodded, leading her back to the room.

"I hope so too." He said. "I'm sure she's just… going for a wwalk. She'll be back before you knoww it." Feferi didn't really like that answer.

"And she just decided to wreck the room on her way out?" She exclaimed. "Somefin happened, somefin drove her to do that and Gamzee has a gill in it too." She feared the worst. What if Nepeta had fallen for the unstable man? Did she even know about what he had done to Eridan?

"Maybe she didn't wwreck the room. Someone else could havve come in after she left and tore it apart to wworry you." he suggested, rubbing her arm gently. She leaned into his touch.

"Who would do that though?" They had reached the room by this point, so she leaned down to pick up some more stray papers.

Gamzee stopped for a second to catch his breath and catch his focus once again. The walls were moving and turning peculiar colors… He shook his head. He had to focus. He had to find either Vriska or his Nepeta.

Vriska arched an eyebrow when she saw the male, making her way over to him. "You and kitty girl sure like running." Once it was registered who was talking to him and her comment, he straightened and grabbed the blueblood's shoulders.

"What done you do?" She tensed a little when she was grabbed and cocked an eyebrow at the garbled question.

"Done I do? What nonsense are you 8a88ling a8bout now?" she asked. Gamzee pulled her forward, pressing his forehead to hers.

"What happened?"

Vriska tried to pull back from his grasp, but found herself unable to. "I don't know what you're talking a8out. What happened with what?" At this point, Gamzee was very close to losing it, so he shook her.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME! Nepeta. What HAPPENED?"

Nepeta? Why was he asking about her of all trolls? "Last I talked to her, she was looking for you. Seemed in a rush, 8ut that was yesterday." She thought for a moment. "What, do you need to give her your love letter for Feferi?"

Love… Feferi?

"what shit are you spewing in my face? WHAT did you TELL HER?!"

"I told her what I heard." She said, giving him a hard look. "That you and Feferi are going to get married, and she was looking for you Feferi's love letter."

That was one more step to the edge. His breathing turned heavy, his eyes darkening. He lashed out at Vriska, and she fell to the ground with a blue tinted shake of Gamzee's palm on her cheek. He stood over her and grabbed her collar.

"I'll give you know, I can't stand THAT BITCH. She took Nepeta away from me. Any stupid fuck try to put us together, I WILL KILL HER!" He switched from talking smoothly and yelling at the lower blood.

She stared up at him, panic actually filling her. She had heard about his fits, but since she had never seen him have one, she wasn't a believer that they were as bad as rumored.

She believed now.

But, there was no way al the servants could be wrong about Feferi and Gamzee… right? "I got it, I got it." She dared to say. "Feferi and you 8ad, you and kitty girl good." She said, covering her cheek with her hand. He tightened his grip on her collar.

"Kitty girl has a name. SAY IT!" he shook her again.

"You don't have you yell." She muttered. "Nepeta. Happy now?" she asked. "you gonna go off to your garden and try to fix things now?"

The garden… "Is that where she went?" he asked.

"That's where I saw her running 8efore you attacked me." She replied.

Nepeta hadn't planned on running into the garden. It just… happened. When she saw the letter from her mermaid princess she just… lost it. She could vaguely recall how much of a mess the room had been when she left. But now here she was, standing in front of the strawberry bushes she had first truly talked to Gamzee in front of. The ones he had given her the ribbon still around her neck in front of.

She grit her teeth and before she got a grip of herself she was tearing apart the bushes and half of them were uprooted, on the grass around her. Her eyes widened and her hands shook, ceasing all other movement. Why had she…?

The thickest branch of the bushes had been snapped into two and she gingerly touched it before pulling back, looking around herself at the damage she had done. After a long moment she reached up and untied the ribbon, wrapping it around the snapped branch to try to put it back together. Once she had, she stood and took off again, running deeper and deeper into the garden.

Remembering the mess the room had been there was no telling what she had planned to do to his garden. He dropped the blueblood and sprinted for the garden. He reached it in record time, knowing exactly where to look.

His strawberries… the ones he had spent so much time with Nepeta taking care of… the roses beside them… the ribbon. It was… Slowly, with trembling hands, he untied the ribbon and pressed it to his face, falling to his knees. It smelled of her, his sweet, warm Nepeta.

"Where are you? I need you." He whispered, his voice breaking on the last word.


	24. 24 Sobriety is a bitch

Eridan had been busy sifting through countless papers, looking for something that would explain all this. How had the girl managed to write so much? He glanced over at the book that had become Nepeta's prized possession according to Feferi, and noticed something sticking out from between the pages. What all had she hid between the book's pages?

Reaching out he pulled the pages out, reading over them. It seemed like a revised version of the letter Feferi had found earlier along with an old, worn out one that was signed… the mermaid princess? That was just a fairy tale. So why would…

His eyes moved to the letter Nepeta had written and he read over it. "Fef… you should look at this." He said, holding the princess' letter to her so he could continue reading Nepeta's.

Feferi stacked the papers she had in hand on the desk and took the letter, glancing over it. Her eyes widened with every single word, and she couldn't help but think of how similar it sounded to Nepeta's letter. With all this information, she could piece it all together. "Nepeta loves… Gamzee."

Eridan thought for a long moment, looking over the letter drafts, it did make sense but… "Then why did she tear apart the room?" He asked. That seemed to be the only thing that didn't fit.

Feferi placed the letters down and skimmed the story book, remembering the picture of the sea foam. Eridan was right, that part didn't make sense. Looking at the dog eared pages, this was the most ready story out of the others in the book. The pages that were frayed the most were in the middle, where the prince was being betrothed to another princess. The mermaid tried to tell the prince her feelings but… she couldn't.

"-Eridan," She suddenly said, turning to him with the book in her hands. "Remember how this story goes? What happens in the end?" She asked. He looked at the story she was referring to.

"Doesn't she… Die?" he asked carefully, looking up at her. She nodded.

"She turns into sea foam. Because she couldn't krill the one she loved, even though he was betrothed to someglub else." Feferi's gills drooped. "What if… Nepeta thought Gamzee loved someglub else? Or was tricked?" what little purple-maroon pigments that were left in his cheeks drained at that.

"I… heard a rumor about him lovving someone else." He said softly. "Wwhat if she heard it too?" he asked. But it was just a story. She wasn't going to turn into sea foam for real, right? Feferi was surprised, rumor or not.

"Reely? That can't be true! Who would even start that?"

Eridan gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I'vve nevver been able to find the source of any rumor that I'vve heard." He replied. "You knoww her wwell. Wwhat wwould she do if she saw the connections between herself and the mermaid princess? And heard that Gam liked someone else?"

Feferi thought for a moment. "She wouldn't be able to krill him either. She would love him too much." She stood up. "But that won't stop her from destroying Anyfin else, including herself." And with that she made a run for the garden. She found Gamzee sitting in front of torn up plants, and found herself unsure if Gamzee or Nepeta had done it. He was holding something… Nepeta's ribbon? "Hey, where did you find that?"

That voice… "Not Nepeta." He barely growled, his hands tightening around the ribbon. That voice didn't belong here, in _his_ garden.

"No, I'm not. Gamzee, I think she's gonna hurt herself!" Feferi pressed, moving closer to him. "We don't have time to just sit around!"

One more step. He was shaking now, only able to see purple. "NOT NEPETA." He growled even louder. She took a small step back, watching him closely.

"Fine, if you're not going to help, so be it. I'll find her myself." She said before she tried to move past him and further into the garden. In a matter of seconds he grabbed her arm and yanked it back, twisting it behind her back.

"I don't have recalling of inviting you to trample up in my garden. DO YOU?" he breathed heavily into her ear, grabbing her other wrist hard enough to bruise. Feferi clenched her jaw at the sting that shot up her arm. Eridan hadn't been kidding about how protective Gamzee was of his garden.

"No." she admitted, trying to pull away from him. His grip loosened, just enough to slam her into the nearest tree. He grabbed her face and pulled so she was looking at him.

"Then what in mother gave you that idea? TO BARGE IN HERE LIKE YOU OWN THE PLACE."

"Nepeta missing seemed like a good enough reason to be able to take a look around."

Gamzee's eye twitched and he backhanded her, making her fall to the ground. "No one. NO ONE. Does the waltz in my garden. WITHOUT MY MOTHERFUCKING PERMISSION. She cringed at the feel of being struck and her Tyrian blood showed through her gray cheek. Looking up at him, her hand gingerly touching her cheek.

"Then go find her and I'll leave."

Gamzee froze at the sight of her flushed cheek. Tyrian. That explained it; that explained everything. His eyes narrowed. "You. YOU." He pointed a finger at her cheek.

"What aboat me?" She asked, shifting back to her feet.

"I don't recall giving you permission to stand. YOU'RE IN MY DARK CARNIVAL NOW. Ring master Gamzee says to kneel. SO MOTHERFUCKING KNEEL." He put a heel on her shoulder and pressed down, forcing her to get on her knees. "Gamzee's dark carnival runs differently then your shitty hemospectrum. YOU'RE WORTH SHIT HERE." He kicked her in the face, knocking her head back.

Dark carnival? What was he talking about? She hardly had enough time to wonder that before he had kicked her and Tyrian blood began to leak from her nose, her hand moving to hold it as pain sparked from it. Nepeta had no clue who she had fallen for.

"What be the matter Fef? DON'T GOT YOUR SHITTY HEMOSPECTRUM TO HIDE BEHIND? Fight me! INSTEAD OF USING FUCKING LOWBLOODS," He reached down, grabbing her hair to drag her up by it. "To do your dirty work. ITS BECAUSE OF YOU JADE DIED." He threw her into the rose bush.

A cry escaped her as thorns pierced her skin and se remained still for a moment. When she tried to move, she regretted it because it only caused more thorns to attack her. "Gamzee, I didn't put up the spectrum. I want to get rid of it when I become queen." She argued.

"Shut up. SHUT UP. You could have made rid of the motherfucking spectrum. MADE RID OF IT. but you didn't and now, MOTHERFUCKING NOW, Jade is dead, Karbro is dead and Nepeta is gone. ALL BECAUSE OF BLOOD… it all goes back to blood. USE BLOOD TO FLAUNT YOUR MOTHERFUCKING PRIVLEGE." He dragged her from the bushed and threw her into the nearest tree. "To throw lowbloods in front of you for sheildage, do you don't get your hands dirty." He pulled her up by her shoulders and hoisted his knee into her gut.

The kick to her gut made her dizzy from pain and she had to breath hard for a long while. "Nepeta isn't gone because of blood… She's gone because of you."

He froze again. "The fuck did you say?" She took too long to answer so he shook her. "MOTHERFUCK I CAN'T HEAR YOU."

She cringed at that. Maybe that had been the wrong thing to say. Too late now. "I said… she's gone… because of you. And if she knew what was good for her, she would stay away from you."

That did it. He released her and calmly walked over to the other side of the apple tree, pulling out a juggling club he had left. "You Tyrians never know to stop. DO YOU?" he threw it up in the air, one handed, juggling it a couple of times. Feferi started to stand, but the sting of her nose reminded her of the bad idea that had been.

"It's true. What do you think she would do if she saw you beating her best frond? Or saw what you did to –Eridan?" she watched the club closely. "She would be terrified and she would run." She would, right?

"Shut up." He muttered. "JUST SHUT UP!" He ran over to her and smacked her in the head with the club. He wasn't satisfied even though she had passed out and slumped down onto the ground. He hit her again and again, blood spurting out here and there. Then he head it; a scream that froze his beating. "Nepsis." He whispered, looking towards the forest that took residence on the other side of the garden. He then looked back to Feferi. He had to get rid of the body. Picking up the unconscious girl, unceremoniously throwing her over the garden wall. Nepeta, his Nepeta was hurt and in danger. He wasted no time grabbing his club and sprinting into the woods.

The sun had set, but she could still see them. The shadowed figures that followed her as she ran. She looked behind herself to see how close they were, and her left foot got caught in a hold in the ground. On her way down her hand shot out to catch herself, and the crack that followed from her wrist forced a scream from her as she curled on the ground.

She raised her head when the nausea from the pain of her wrist and ankle eased, and her eyes widened, her pupils nearly swallowing her irises. They were circling her now, on all fours with feline grave and two pairs of horns on each head. She tried to push herself up but the main radiated up her arm and she cried out again as she arm gave out and she fell back to the ground.

Nepeta… Nepeta… "NEPETA!" the purple blood screamed, running and tripping over roots to find the troll. Feferi's words kept echoing through his head though, with the other voices. What he had done to Feferi hadn't sunken in yet, his head too much of a mess to even think straight. "NEPETA!"

She flinched at hearing her name, and in her panic she didn't even think before she called back. "HELP!" she screeched, trying to get up again with little success.

He was close, very close. He turned and crashed through some branches, landing in a clearing where there was a group of feline beasts circling some prey… No, that wasn't prey. He knew those horns, that petit body… curled against him. Soft, warm skin… "Nepeta… NEPETA!"

"G-Gamzee…?" Came her choked response and she jumped when one of the beasts yowled at her. With a whimper she curled around her injuries again. That didn't fly with the sober troll. He ran and jumped into the circle, facing the feline beasts with Nepeta behind him. His vision filled with purple, his teeth bares as he was shaking. _Kill them, KILL THEM._ "Fight me. COME MOTHERFUCKING ON!" He screamed.

Nepeta raised her head, and wouldn't have panicked with him there… If she hadn't seen the Tyrian blood that was already dripping from the club he help. "F… Fefurri…?" She squeaked as a pair of beasts charged at Gamzee. He was blind from that point on, completely unaware of his surroundings as more blood stained his club. The bests were of little match to him. A few managed to knick him before he bashed their thinkpans open. It was almost calming to him, seeing the blood on his arms and around him on the ground. A part of him that he had buried deep was very elated, high off the blood, craving more and more.

Once every last beast had fallen, Nepeta stared at the one closest to her, watching the yellow blood ease out of it's still frame. She paled at the color and when she looked up at Gamzee, she didn't see the highblood anymore. She saw short black hair and duel pairs of horns that made her sit up and try to scoot back and away from him.

He missed a beast, a tiny pathetic one shuffling behind him. "Herrre kitty, kitty." The words tumbled out of his mouth, his body turning to face the useless thing. Judging from the horns it was a little meowbeast, and he was sure it would bleed a beautiful green color. "KITTY, KITTY, KITTY." He extended his hand, beckoning her with his index finger as he stepped slowly toward her.

Two pairs of fangs were shown when he called her that horrid word, and her hands moved to cover her ears. However, when pressure was applied to her right, injured wrist she let out a soft cry of pain. _Not again, not again._ This couldn't be happening again…

"Come here kitty, kitty. I WON'T HURT YOU. Just wanna see some blood spill." He juggled the bloody club again with one hand, reaching out to touch her with the other. She jerked back and shut her eyes as tightly as she could, a whimper escaping her.

"Mew." She squeaked.

That mew… it wasn't animalistic… and he… he _knew_ that mew. The purple slowly drained from his eyes as he focused on…

"Nepsis? Nepeta?" He choked out. He looked down at his hands; he was still holding his bloody club, blood everywhere. Yellow, purple… and Tyrian. His hands began to shake and he took a couple steps back, collapsing onto his knees. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?"

Hearing her name made the fangs disappear and the duel horns changed into a single pair of long horns when she opened her eyes once again. The question caused red and blue eyes to turn back to the purple they needed to be. Not… No, it wasn't him. It was… "G-Gamzee?" she asked. He was panting now, his breathing becoming uneven as the club dropped from his hand and he pressed it to his face. "Nepeta… what done I did? WHAT DID I DONE?"

Nepeta managed to get to her feet, wincing as she limped toward him. "You… save me." She said softly and he shook his head, his middle and index finger pressed above his left eye, ring and little fingers below and his thumb on his right cheek bone.

"I killed them. I MOTHERFUCKING KILLED THEM." His sharp nails dug into his skin. "I almost killed you."

"But… you didn't. That's what's important." She said as gently as she could, closing the distance between the two of them the best she could before her ankle began to throb.

Feferi's words echoed through his head again. "If she knew what was good for her, she'd done stay away from you." He understood now, but his words confused Nepeta.

"If who knew?" She asked, forcing herself to take a couple more steps toward him. His fingers dug even more into his skin.

"If you knew… Nepeta." His soft, warm Nepeta… no, he should be allowed to call her that. He wanted to though, he wanted to be worthy of loving her. But he was a monster. "I got my understanding on now. FINALLY GOT MY MOTHERFUCKING UNDERSTANDING ON TO WHY PEOPLE STAU THE MOTHERFUCK AWAY FROM ME. I'm a monster." Purple tinted tears laced his eyes. "A MOTHERFUCKING MONSTER."

She flinched each time he yelled, and limped until she stood in front of him, placing her uninjured hand over the one of his on his face. "Gamzee… don't. You'll make scars..."

"Let them scar. LET THEM FUCKING SCAR!" He screamed the clawing becoming violent as his nails soon reached his other cheek. "People will know for sure. NO ONE WANTS TO LOOK AT A MONSTER. I can't hurt what's not near me. CAN'T HURT ANYONE. Not even loved ones. She flinched, her hand pulling back an inch from him at that. A somber tone entered her eyes, her pupils close to their normal size now.

"Feferi… she doesn't mind scars." She said softly.

"Feferi… MOTHERFUCK I… I did something bad… TO HER… I'm sorry." He choked out.

"Gamzee, she'll furgive you… she furgives those she loves… that love her." Feferi must have asked him to come find her. "I was told about you two getting married. I'm happy fur…" She couldn't even bring herself to say the lie. Gamzee looked up at her, the most upset look in his eyes.

"I know about that. Vriska told me." He grabbed her shoulders. "It ain't true. YOU HEAR ME? IT AIN'T MOTHERFUCKING TRUE. I don't love her. I DON'T WANT HER. Nepeta… PLEASE. I want you, I FUCKING LOVE YOU!" The tears were streaming down his cheeks now, cutting through the blood splatters, mixing with the purple from his three new cuts. "ALL THIS MOTHERFUCKING TIME, I LOVED YOU. I love you… Nepeta, please. PLEASE. CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?"

Nepeta stared at him, confused beyond all belief. He loved… her? Le loved her… back? His tears convinced her more so than his words and she reached out with a shaking hand to brush away the purple tinted tears that were darkened by his blood. "I… we… we should go back… we need to get you cleaned up so your scratches won't get infected…"

He wanted to bury his face in her chest, feel her warmth chase away the coldness in him. He wanted to forget all that had happened and just breath, with her. But he swallowed instead and stood up on shaky legs. Recalling her limping to him, he held his arms out, silently offering to carry her. She started to step back and opened her mouth to tell him she could walk on her own, but the spark of pain that shot up her leg made her second thing that idea. Instead she took half a step toward him and reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck the best she could. His heart tightened when he saw the pain flicker on her face, but staid silent as he scooped her up carefully and as gently as he could. He held her a bit tight, her chest against his, her legs wrapped around his waist. He let out a shaky sigh and began to walk back to the castle, leaving the bloody club behind among the corpses


	25. 25 Daddy's little defect

Eridan had made his way out of the castle just in time to see Gamzee throw the Tyrian coated body over the garden wall that lined the cliff the castle was on and he tensed. Before he could call out to Gamzee, the purple blood was gone and Eridan ran to the wall, looking over it. Pulling himself up on it, he hesitated for only a moment before he dived into the water.

Panic flooded him as his head went under the water and he desperately tried to find the surface. The moment his head was free he began to cough, and tried to close his gills as Feferi had showed him. Several tries later he managed and he began to look around himself, trying to find Feferi. Finally he found her and hooked an arm around her sure-to-be-sore waist, pulling her to and onto shore.

The nurse had followed Eridan out, and had seen everything. She made her way down to the beach to meet him when he dragged Feferi from the water. "N0 need t0 explain, I kn0w. Need any help carrying her?" Eridan shook his head, coughing. Once he gained his footing, he shifted her as gently as he could, carrying her bridal style back up to the castle, the nurse a few steps behind her.

"I was afraid 0f this happening. I was actually 0n my way t0 check 0n him when all this happened. My 0ffice." She said, turning the corner as she took lead.

"Wwe told him Nep wwas missing. Fef found some letters she wwrote to Gam and wwent to go find him. I couldn't get to her before he wwas throwwing her ovver the castle wwall." Eridan said, following her as he looked down at Feferi. The nurse paled a bit as she nodded.

"I heard ab0ut that. A search party has been dispatched and n0 luck yet." She unlocked the infirmary and nodded for him to enter first. Eridan couldn't help but feel surprised about the search party.

"Wwho dispatched them?" He asked, stepping in and laying Feferi on the bed that he saw her in far more than he liked.

"Either the queen 0r kind, I'm n0t sure." She wasted no more time before checking Feferi's vitals, her pulse, her breathing. "She's alive, barely th0ugh, but she's in g00d hands n0w." She turned to Eridan, scissors in her hands. "G0ing t0 need y0u t0 absc0nd f0r a bit, n0t pr0per f0r y0u t0 see her nude." She said opening and closing the scissors. He turned before she could see much of his royal blood flooding to his cheeks and he made his way quickly from the room.

She laughed, having seen most of the blush anyway. Then she turned her attention to Feferi. "Y0u're very lucky miss Peixes, t0 have Amp0ra l00king after y0u. He can be infuriating at times, but he has a big heart."

The nurse tucked a blanket around the cleaned up troll, Eridan in the room once again. "A c0ncussi0n, br0ken n0se, tw0 br0ken ribs, 0ne that was previ0usly cracked, three m0re cracked, and bruises as far as the eye can see. Thankfully he f0cused 0n her upper b0dy s0 she will still be able t0 walk. But g0g kn0ws h0w much pain she will be in when she waked. She turned to face the pale prince. "Hey, she'll be fine." She said, patting his shoulder.

He nodded, and then shifted his gaze to his hands. "All this… I couldn't savve her this time either…" he whispered. The nurse gave him a sympathetic look.

"You did th0ugh. Maybe n0t fr0m Gamzee's fun, but y0u pulled her 0ut 0f the sea. She c0uldn't have swam by herself, given that she was 0ut c0ld. Had y0u n0t been there, she c0uld have bled to death, or dr0wned. Y0u have t0 give y0urself that credit."

Eridan gave a nod, but couldn't find himself able to believe a word of what she said. He shouldn't have lost sight of her. If he had been with her, maybe he would be the one in the bed this time, not her. If he had stepped in at the market, she wouldn't have been in the bed in the first place. A soft sigh passed his lips as he kept his head down.

"From the wway Gam has been acting… his… his plants ran dry again, didn't they?" He had seen Gamzee after Karkat had been sentenced to death. After he had calmed down from his blood rant he had all but drowned himself in his slime, and it hadn't been long before they dried up.

The nurse nodded. "it's the 0nly l0gical explanati0n. They should be replenished n0w th0ugh, s0 he'll calm d0wn 0nce he has a batch." She turned and made her way for her office, stopping to look back at him. "Y0u l0ve her." She said. It wasn't a question. He opened his mouth to respond to the first statement, but the second one stopped him. He was silent for a long moment, then he nodded.

"I… I believve I do."

She nodded again. "Y0u c0uld use a girl like her. She l0ves y0u t00, s0 take care 0f her. Y0u d0n't run int0 t00 many girls like her." With that she closed the door to her office, leaving Eridan alone with Feferi. She was stiff out cold, sleeping while quiet pained groans occasionally escaped her. Eridan moved closer to her, looking down at her hand before he sighed, reaching out to take it.

"I wwish I could protect you." He whispered.

"Then vwhy don't you?" A gruff voice asked behind Eridan, causing his to tense and hesitate before he looked back at the speaker.

"I'm…" He dropped his gaze. "I'm trying…"

The man stepped forward, a permanent sneer on his face. "Got something on your shoes boy?" He growled. Eridan winced, forcing himself to look up at the male.

"No sir." He said, paying careful attention to his breathing. Duel Scar scoffed, taking a hold of Eridan's scarf. "vwhy are you soaking vwet boy?"

"Gam… Gam threww Fef into the ocean." He said. "I wwent in after her… to savve her…"

His eyebrows raised. "You? Dovve into the vwater? About time you got ovver that stupid fear." He muttered, pushing the smaller troll out of the way. "Vwhy don't you go change? I'll keep an eye on it." He said, looking to the sleeping female. Eridan's hands balled into fists at his sides.

"She's not an 'it'." He said, trying to ignore the shaking in his knees. "Her name is Feferi." Duel Scar waved a dismissive hand, not looking back at his son.

"She's from our rival kingdom. It, her, same thing vwhen you're from that place. Go change, you're dripping all over the floor."

Eridan opened his mouth to make another comment, but found that it would just be in vain. He turned, making his way from the room and to his own, changing into a simple black button down shirt and slacks. He looked at the scarf that Feferi had given him, hanging in on a coat rack so it would dry. Carefully he pulled his old one from Grumpy Gills. Once it was in place he made his way back to the infirmary.

The king had seated himself in a chair near Feferi's bed, smoking a pipe. He looked to the door as Eridan entered and blew some smoke in his direction. "She moans like the little bitch she is, so I silenced her once or tvwice." He looked down at the now silent troll. "I'd imagine she'd be a bit easier to look at, evven if she is the hairbitch's spavwn." She took in a long drag, then blew the smoke in her face. "Didn't put up much fight, did she? Should havve knovwn better than to pick a fight vwith Gamzee."

Everyone had their limit, and even though the man terrified him, Eridan had reached his. "Shut up!" He snapped, moving between Duel Scar and Feferi's bed. "I'll bet she put up more of a fight than you wwould havve managed!" The man just looked up at him.

"You think so? Havve you forgotten my room looks ovver the garden? I savw evverything, she didn't lift a finger to protect herself." He took a drag from his pipe. "Gamzee brought up some good points. She relied on the hemospectrum just like her mother. Vwants lovwbloods to do her dirty vwork."

"You don't knoww a thing about her, don't act like you do." Eridan said through a clenched jaw. "She shielded a rust blood wwith her owwn body not two wweeks ago and ended up in this vvery bed. That's not making lowwbloods do her wwork.

"Vwhat an angel, my heart is bleeding." He replied in a deadpan voice. "Still got that stutter I hear. And that scarf. Ashamed are vwe? Don't vwant the public to knovw you couldn't defend yourself?"

Eridan felt himself pale and his fists tightened. "If you hadn't sent Kar to die, it wwouldn't havve happened." He said. "The Condesce isn't the only one wwho follows the spectrum. You're no better than she is."

"Spectrum or no spectrum, he vwas a mutant. He shouldn't havve been allovwed to livve past vwriggling, nor his father. A pity good talent vwas vwasted on their blood." He commented, taking a drag before he started to stare off into space, intending to ignore anything else the other had to say.

"You're the waste of blood here." Eridan said, focusing as hard as he could on his words to prevent his stuttering the best he could.

Duel Scar dropped his pipe and stood, slamming his foot down to shatter the item, keeping eye contact with his son. When at full height Eridan only came up to his shoulders. "Vwould you like to repeat that boy?" He growled.

The shaking in Eridan's legs retuned when his father stood but he kept eye contact with him nonetheless. "I said you're the wwaste of blood, if wwe're comparing wworth." The trembling of his legs prevented him from stopping the stuffer this time.

"Vwweh, vwweh." He mocked his son's stutter. "I'vve got nevwws for you, you're not vwworth your blood color. You're vwworth shit!" He snapped. At this point, Feferi was stirring from her sleep, the pain kicking in so she was writing and whimpering. She was surprisingly coherent.

"-E-Eridan?" She choked out. Eridan had been glaring at the older male, but flinched at Feferi's voice. He looked back at her, concern instantly filling his eyes.

"Fef… Howw are you feeling?" He asked, moving to her side. She could only shake her head, the small movement causing more pain than she thought it would.

"Mmnn…" She whimpered, shutting her eyes tightly. Dualscar made a disgusted expression.

"Go back to sleep you. No one vwwants to hear hose pathetic noises." He growled.

Eridan glared back at him, gritting his teeth. "Howw about you g pick a fight wwith Gam. Let's see wwhat sounds you make after!"

He snickered. "Ha! Unlike you lot, I can hold my ovwwn in a fight."

"You'vve nevver gone up against Gam." He said. "I'd like to see you after he's through wwith you." He added, trying to force anger into his voice. It wasn't working all that well. Dualscar nodded.

"True, but I've gone against his mother. Havve you forgotten?" He swiped his hand over his face, ghosting over the two jagged scars trailed across his nose. "Unlike you, I don't hide behind scarves. So vwwhy do you?" He asked, tugging on Eridan's scarf again. He cringed at that, backing down from the fight as he lowered his gaze in submission.

"I…" He didn't have anything else. "I'm ashamed…" He admitted softly. Dualscar nodded.

"So am I boy," He pushed Eridan back so the shorter male had to catch himself on the side of Feferi's bed. "That I havve to call you my son." With that, he slipped out the door.

The Highblood had taken residence outside of the office and looked to duel scar as he exited the office. "She's cute at least." She mused. "Cuter than Gamzee's toy any way."

"I havve to disagree vwith you, at least for novw while she," he jerked his thumb at the door. "-looks like that. I find the kitten to be easier to look at. It's a shame for someone on the lovwer side of the spectrum to be that pretty." He commented, walking over to place his hands on the wall on either side of the Grand Highblood's head.

"She's more timid than even your son." She replied, cocking an eyebrow. "I don't see how she'll hold her own against mine." She mused. He hand moved up, sharpened nails trailing long his scars. "It'd be a shame for that face of hers to earn a few of these. Her face really is all she has going for her for being so close to having lime blood."

"Yes," He said, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch. "If she uses her looks to an advvantage though, one could forgive her color." Her hand slid down his cheek to his neck, pressing a little harder to cause a light mark.

"What a shame it would be for something to happen to her." She repreated, mischief glinting in her eyes. A growl could be heard from the back of Duel scar's throat.

"Yes. Vvery much a shame." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist. She pressed herself against him.

"Maybe I'll pay her a visit before we leave." She suggested in an almost bored tone, scratching a darker line under the first. He snickered, running a hand through her mess of hair, tugging her head back hard so he could attack her neck with bites.

"Don't kill the poor think, I knovw you too vwell. You vwould." He muttered against her neck as he continued to bruise her neck. The Highblood's back arched against him, an almost purr of pleasure escaping her lips.

"I'll leave her death to my son. It would be fun to kill her and watch him fall apart once again, though." She added, dragging her nails down his neck to cause a groan. His teeth traveled down to her chest where he bit hard enough for a small trickle of purple blood to escape.

"You sick woman."

She moved her hand to his chin, pulling his head up to hers. "You wouldn't have me any other way." She replied, running her tongue along his lower lip to clean her blood from it.


	26. Oh Dear

Hello everyone who is still putting up with us! I can't apologize enough for the unannounced hiatus that happened. Though since you are Homestucks, I imagin you are all used to hiatus'. My partner and I both had family problem and what not and weren't able to get into the swing of this for a long while.

However! We are regrouping on what we plan to happen and writing it together once more! Thus, as long as things go well, we shall have a new chapter or two up and I shall go back to posting a new chapter every Sunday as I was doing in the past. And don't worry, we've got quite a bit more in store for you all, so I hope you all look forward to 10-15 or so more chapters coming your way!

Thank you all for being patient and supportive. Even those of you who enjoy criticizing my minor mess ups with typing these chapters. Once I get access to a laptop that isn't 10 years old and works well, I shall go back and edit the past chapters.

Sincerely and with much grattitude, Krissy(Bewaretheshippingwall) and Maddie(Themadwrldeffect)

(( Out of curiosity, what do you all think is going to happen? Are there any things that you're just dying to find out about? ))


	27. 26 'Wwe?

Eridan waited for the male to leave before his hands moved to the rail of the bed, holding tightly onto it as he tried to keep himself on his feet. After several long moments of breathing carefully, he looked to Feferi. "I'm so sorry." He breathed. Feferi opened her eyes and looked over at him.

"What… do you mean?" She asked, slurring a bit. He took his usual spot beside her.

"I wwasn't able to protect you." He said softly. "Again." The female shook her head.

" 's not your fault… Should have waited fer you." She mumbled.

Eridan shook his head, taking her hand in his own. "I should havve been faster." He argued gently. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry Fef."

"Please… don't 'pologize." She begged. "Both at fault… kay?" He gave a nod and took her hand, lifting it so he could press his lips to it. His eyes were shut tight and he could still feel himself shaking. Feferi could as well. "Heard a bit… talking… your dad?" She asked and he nodded again, his eyes still closed.

"Yeah. He saw wwhat happened between you and Gam." If was Feferi's turn to nod slowly.

"Not… nice troll." She had only gotten a glimpse of him, but his look of disgust was clear. Eridan opened his eyes and gave her a small smile.

"No, he's not." He agreed. "Wwould you like me to get the nurse? Do you need anything?" Although Feferi was in more pain than she would have liked, she wasn't ready to fall asleep yet.

"Cuttles?" She asked, attempting to reach her arms out to him.

Eridan nodded, trying not to show that he was nervous about touching her in her frail state. He pulled the chair closer to her, laying his head on the pillow beside her, keeping as much of his weight off of her as he could.

This was better, much better. Feferi could take her mind off her injuries and focus on him. She scooted a little closer to him and reached out for his scarf, as it had fallen loose from his father's tugging. She tightened it a bit before speaking. "Not… 'shamed… to know… you."

Eridan didn't know if he could handle this conversation. Not now any way. He didn't want her to waste energy when she was injured on reassuring him that he had nothing to be ashamed about. "Fef… you should rest… Savve your strength." He said, trying to fight the tremble in his voice.

She shook her head a bit. "Don't wanna." The moment those words passed her lips, a spasm of pain from her ribs shot up her spine, emitting a small scream of pain from the princess' lips. Her hand shot out, grabbing onto Eridan's clinging onto it for dear life.

"Fef, please. If you sleep you wwon't be in pain." He said, watching her face closely. Unless the nurse had a secret stash of sophor, she didn't seem like she was going to be sleeping anytime soon. Feferi shook her head like a child having a tantrum.

"No. Need… to tell you…" She trailed off, trying to wait for another wave of pain to pass.

"Need to tell me?" He repeated, a confused look entering his purple eyes. She inhaled slowly, then exhaled deeply. Her eyes then met his.

"I choose you." She said with a small smile. He stared at her with wide eyes.

"Ww-wwhat?"

Feferi giggled weakly. "Don't wanna be… with Gamzee… Wanna be with… you." She explained, taking his hand and placing it on her cheek.

If he hadn't felt his gills shift, he wouldn't have realized that he was holding his breath. The male stared at her for a long moment once he had taken a breath in, then he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to hers. Feferi craned her neck up to return his kiss, and if she hadn't been so out of it she would have put a lot more energy into it. Thrown her arms around his neck, pulled him closer to her. But she was content with gripping the front of his shirt. She was surrounded my his scent, and it comforted her and took some of the pain away. This was what she had been wanting for weeks. It wasn't perfect, but it was beautiful all the same.

Eridan broke the kiss, regretfully. "If I promise… that you'll still be Fef to me… can wwe be… 'Wwe'?" he asked, opening his eyes to look into hers. She pressed another quick kiss on his lips before pulling back with a smile.

"Of coralse Eridan." She said with some strength, then she yawned. "I sink… I'll take the… sleepy drink now."

He nodded, then called the nurse over. "Do you still havve a stash of sophor to givve her?"

The rust blooded nurse nodded at his question as she walked to them. "Yes, I d0 have a stash. 0ne sec0nd." She said, making her way back to her office. A few minutes later she came out with a glass of pale green liquid. "I really need t0 ask prince Makara t0 harvest s0me m0re s00n. Als0," She turned her gaze to Eridan as she helped Feferi drink the glass. "He was seen with Nepeta entering the castle and headed t0 his r00m. I've been inf0rmed they're pretty battered up s0 I need t0 g0 check 0n them. Will y0u tw0 be 0kay f0r a while with0ut me?"

Eridan nodded. "I'll find you if you're needed before you return." He replied, taking his seat beside Feferi again.

((Sorry that it's so short ^^; the next one will shift back to Gamzee and Nepeta as usual :3 ))


	28. Blurghghghghh

Blurghghghghghh!

So, my computer decided to show it's love to me by dying, and my partner's computer became flooded with virus'. Thus we lost the newest five or so chapters. Which I'm sure is just as upsetting to you loyal readers who were looking forward to chapters and updates when I promised them. Sadly, they might be a few days away. Thankfully we have a chart thingy of what happened and is going to happen, so it's just a matter or re-writing it all and making sure it has the same feeling. Which I will be spending all day today doing.

Also, while I'm waiting on her I am going to go back and edit the past chapters since I'm on a computer that isn't ten+ years old and can handle it.

So sorry for all the postponing! Problems are problematic. Thank you for your patience!

-BewareTheShippingWall and TheMadWrldEffect


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